“Hyung, are you coming tonight?” My overly enthused junior throws his arm around my shoulders and gives my arm a gentle squeeze. I shake my head, looking around the school parking lot for a familiar car, disinterested in the topic as he had been bugging me all week.
“Eh, why not?” He bends to my height and whines, nuzzling his mop of dark brown hair into my neck, making me smile and push him away gently.
“Yah, Minho-ah, you can go alone. I’ve said this all week.” He smirks, letting me go and shoving his hands deep into his pockets, scuffing his sneaker along the ground.
“Won’t be any fun without you.” I sigh, brushing my fringe from my eyes and raising a brow at him.
“That’s a lie, I know you will be ditching me the moment you find him.” He has been eyeing that Taemin boy from Saint Marys’ Academy for weeks.  I tug on my long uniform sleeves, looking around at all the students piling into cars and pulling away. Where is she?
“I just want to make new friends Hyung, that’s all.” Minho insists his innocence on the matter, drawing my attention back to him.
“Just friends?” I stifle a laugh, peering up at my younger, “Since when do you Minho-ssi just want to make friends? You are the flaming charisma of this school, having someone as just a friend is rare for you.”
“You are my friend Jinki~” He moves closer and mummers, making me jump and snap my head to stare him down, his fingers playing with the edge of my fabric shirt. A warm blush heats my cheeks, shoving his wandering hands away.
“We are in public. Do you mind?” I hiss, looking around at all the strange looks of fellow students I was receiving, including the hateful glares from some of the freshman girls.
“No.” He snickers, pulling me into a hug, as I try my hardest to wiggle away from him, “But if you come tonight hyung, I’ll be a good boy.” I manage to escape, looking up into his dark eyes.
“Fine, fine. If it will keep you from blowing up my phone with messages, I will go.” His face lights up and I scowl, ”Thank you!” He ruffles my light coloured locks before running off, “See you later.” And with a final wave, he disappears into the crowd of other students, leaving me to look around the carpark once more in frustration. She is late again.

Oh wae pyojeongi an joha haneuri norake byeonhae. The loud lyrics erupt from my pocket, making me to jump and dig around in search for my phone. Seeing her name appear on the screen, I try my hardest to be nice as I pick up.

***

“Ah, Taemin, give it back.” I giggle, jumping forward and uselessly grabbing for my phone, to which he held it high above my head.  
“Nu-uh.” He grins, grabbing me around the waist and playfully nuzzles into my hair.
“Yah!” I manage to escape his grasp and stumbles a little, my eyes flicking across the street as something catches my eye, surprisingly it was a boy in what looked like a Terry Mount High uniform. My heart skipped a beat as he pulled his hand away from his face, his gooey chocolate eyes meeting mine. H-hes so handsome.

“Hyung~ Hyung!” My eyes pulled away from the other boys’, annoyed at my latter for interrupting.
“What?” I huff, scowling.
“Wait…are you blushing?” He chuckles, pinching my plump cheeks, to which I react by slapping his hands away.
“No.” I shake my head in denial, my eyes flicking back, and to my surprise, he had disappeared. Taemin follows my eyes and snaps around to have a look.
“What are you looking at?” He pouts, his tone revealing his disappointment when he couldn’t locate the source of my interest.
“Nothing.” I mutter, the image of the mysterious boy burnt into my mind.
“Ok, well, we are here.”

Looking left, I see Taemins’ house standing tall and proud, the forever quiet house seeming even more dead then usual. The fallen autumn leaves remain piled on the lawn, his grass a little too long to be seen as neat and the car port as empty as always. Walking up the pathway, I go to push the doorbell when he brushes my hand away and slides the key into the door.

“Don’t bother, no-one is home.” His voice flat and unemotive as he pushes the glass door open, sliding his shoes off and stepping into the cool house, “Little chilly, keep your jacket on.”

Nodding, I follow suit, closing the door behind me and heading to the kitchen.

“Should we bother eating or do you think there will be food at the party?” I ask, pulling my heavy back pack from my shoulders and sigh from relief. 
“Nah, Na-eun said there would be plenty.” He smiles a little, stretching out his arms.
“Na-eun hmm? What’s going on between you two?” I grin, poking my youngers’ side as he smacks my arm in embarrassment.
“Nothing, just friends.” He mumbles, rubbing his face and stalking off towards his room.
“Just ‘friends’?” I emphasis on the friends words, skipping down the hall behind him.
“Yes.” He replies impatiently, nodding quickly.

Knowing this was as little context I was going to get about their relationship, I decide not to pry. “Alright.”

Reaching his room, I crouch down and pulls my secret bag out of the bottom of his closet. Tugging the zipper open, I am confronted with an explosion of frills and lace, “Leaving all this stuff at your house was a smart idea.” I murmur, pulling out the petticoat and dress first, smoothing the fabric and tossing them onto his bed. He gives a small hum of approval, too busy with his phone. Frowning, I chuck my star clip at him. “Taemin!” I scowl, his head shooting up and pouting, “What Hyung?”
“Don’t be rude, who are you talking to that is so important?” I ask, pulling out my shoes from the bag.
“No-one.” He replies, shoving the device back into his pocket.
“Well, get out while I change then.” I frown, chucking some of his clothes at him, in an attempt to get some kind of reaction from him.
“Fine.” He stomps out, closing the door behind him dramatically as I roll my eyes. For the next hour, I put the outfit on, piece by piece, taking extra time for my make-up and lashes, having trouble with the messy glue. “Stupid stuff.” I pout, re-applying the lashes for the second time. Succeeding, I stand up, and shuffle to the full-length mirror and peer in. I felt completely transformed, I barely recognised myself. My wig fringe fell just above my eyes, my false lashes brushing just under my brows and my once plain face was now flushed with colour, my lips glossed in a sparkly pink shade. The soft chiffon blouse complimented my soft pink cotton dress, the sleeves flared, giving it a princess feel. My tights were in a stark white, and my shoes were pink platforms. Turning around, I saw Taemin staring from the doorway, a smile on his lips. He was dressed in a light blue button down, tight black jeans and his hair slicked back neatly. Suddenly feeling shy, my cheeks flush a deeper red as I grab the closest pillow, pegging it at my smug junior.

“Yah! Taemin~ What if I was dressing?” I huff, brushing some loose strands of the wig behind my ear. Secretly glad he wasn’t angry anymore.
“I wouldn’t have minded.” He grins, guarding himself in case of another pillow attack.

I brush his second comment away, slouching onto my bed, compulsively brushing the non-existent wrinkles out of my dress.

“You ‘right?” He asks, pulling up a seat beside me and resting his head on my lap, drawing my attention to him rather than my dress.
“I’m scared to be honest.” I sigh, running my fingers through his wavy hair, scared about what everyone will think.
“No one will mind, you look awesome.” He nods, so sure of his answer but I still seem so sceptical about it. This wasn’t right, I mean, I’m a boy, dressing up as a girl for a party. Not just cross-dressing, but I’m completely changing everything and it isn’t just playful kitten heels, this was a fashion statement from Japan. It was majorly toned down, but it really looked quite far from normal. This was going to be my first outing as an official Lolita and I had read so many bad things about other girls going out for the first time.

What if someone trips me? Or lifts my dress? Perhaps even corners me…. I shiver at the very thought of any of these things happening. Man, those girls have it rough.

“Ready to go Bummie?” He asks, scooping up my star shaped purse from his bed.
“Ready as I will ever be.”

It took us a little over twenty minutes to walk there, and only after five was I beginning to hate myself for the shoes I had chosen to wear. There were a few weird stares from people walking by, but as Taemin said, I ignored them completely and I was glad that I hadn’t just given up, running back to his house screaming.

The sun had fallen behind the houses, the sky turning black as we walked, dotted with thousands of stars. The street lights flickered on, leaving us in ambient light. I enjoyed the silence of the suburbs, only the occasional chirp of a bird would change the otherwise still air, and the temperature hitting just below 25 was something I was more than thrilled about. Taemin and I hadn’t said a word to each other since we left, but he looked so deep in thought I didn’t want to interrupt. Rounding the street corner, we were bombarded with the sound of heavy k-pop music, blaring from a house about halfway down the street, cars piled along the side walk as teens rough housed and the girls gossiped about who was going to make it tonight, their drunken laughter echoing in the once silent air.

Walking up the porch steps, Taemin pulls open the wooden door, allowing me to enter first. I look around, a sudden anxiety wave hitting me as the noise grew louder, teens stumbling around and waving their beers in the air. I tug self consciously on my dress, my eyes glued to the floor as everyone’s’ eyes turn to glare at me. Do they know who I am? I’m so nervous. Hiding my sweating palms, I can’t seem to stop my body shaking. Taemins’ sudden touch calms me a little, but not enough to raise my eyes. “Minho-ah!” His voice rings out, drawing more attention to us. Oh god, I want to die. Maybe I should just go, I shouldn’t have done this. I spend minutes thinking about the various ways I could escape the party when a tall figure stands in front of me, speaking with a slight slur; “Tae~ you’re here.” I peer up curiously as a dark haired boy throws his arms around the latter, giving him a small squeeze before looking over at me.
“This your girl?” He asks, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
“Nah, just a friend. This is… Gwiboon.” I look at him in surprise at my new name but he just shrugs and turns his attention back to the drunken boy. “Ah, Minho-ssi, are you drunk already?” Taemin playfully jokes, and the elder scowls.
“You should see Jinki-hyung.” He laughs, hiccupping a little and his eyes run over me again as I remain silent. “He would like your friend.” He not so subtly suggests, giving me a wink and turning back to the crowd of people.
“JINKI!” He yells out, earning a few glares from the guests but he doesn’t even seem to notice. Out of nowhere, the ‘Jinki’ person emerges, a red cup in his hand accompanied by flushed cheeks and drunken smile lighting his child-like features.
“What Minho?” He grins, slurring as he looks over at me with interest. That’s him. The boy I saw earlier on the street. Even like these he’s gorgeous. My heart begins to pound eagerly in my chest, a stir in the bottom of my stomach as his attention turns to Minho.
“This is Taemin-ah.” He squeezes the small boys’ shoulders and he nods happily.
 “Ah, you are the boy he won’t stop talking about.” Jinki grins as Minho embarrassingly swats at him.

Maybe I can sneak away, no-one will notice right?

 “Hey, what’s your name?” Jinki’s eyes flick to me, his nature warm and welcoming. My words slip past my lips without a second thought.
“Gwiboon.” My voice was quiet (which is quite uncharacteristic for me), and he smiles a little.
“I’m Jinki.” He grins, gently reaches for my hair, and despite his drunken state, is surprisingly gentle as he takes a few strands between his fingers, “Is this your natural hair colour?” Although his question is strangely personal, I can’t help a blush appear on my cheeks and it takes him a second to register as I nod yet again, answering his question. “Regardless, it looks pretty on you.” He mumbles, giving me the cutest eye smile before brushing his too-long fringe from his eyes, “What are you wearing?” He asks curiously, pointing at my dress, “Is it a costume?”
“oh, um…no, it’s a fashion from Japan called Lolita.” I reply, tripping a little on my words.
“Lolita? Ah, I saw some of this in the streets of Harajuku when I went to Japan last year. It was much more extravagant though.” He nods, looking over the plain dress. “It’s so puffy.” He giggles, gently prodding the skirt with his finger, “Wah… so soft.”

I smile, looking up to his kind face, relaxing into the conversation when I realise he wasn’t the judgemental type.

“So…um, how do you know the birthday girl?” That was so lame. I scowl at my own stupidity but Jinki doesn’t seem to mind, answering my question regardless.
“Oh, my step-sister is friends with her, but- I’m here for…” He trails off, looking over the two teens with a raised eyebrow at the event unfolding in front of us. I turn towards Taemin, and watch Minho fussing and giving him his full attention, much like a child with a new toy. A small twinge of jealousy hit me, but it wasn’t because they were getting all up on each other but rather that Taemin looked so happy. Minho had done something to my Tae, and the way they looked at each other made me feel so left out.

My mood going from bad to worse, I look around for any kind of distraction. “Nice to meet you Jinki.” I say with a dismissive wave, no longer in the mood for talking, I squeeze through the crowds of people and stumble into a hallway that is dark and empty, to my relief. I feel bad for  just leaving him there but I had to get away from those two. He was so sweet… Sighing, I take a moment to roll my tired ankles and give my feet a small chance to relax as I shift my weight and lean against a wall, closing my eyes. This was so stupid, why did I even think this party was a good idea at all. A strangers’ cough brings me back to reality and I look around for the culprit when I spot a shadow of a man nearby.

“Sorry, I’ll just go.” I hang my head, trying to move away when they grab my arm.
“Kibum, I have been looking for you everywhere.” A husky voice speaks in my ear, moving closer to me.
“J-jonghyun?” I ask in surprising, trying to pull my arm free but he just squeezes tighter.
“I need to speak to you somewhere quiet.” Despite the darkness of the hall, I can see the tiredness in his face and the sorrow in his eyes.  
“Fine. But make it quick.” I roll my eyes, in absolutely no mood for the drama he was bound to cause. “If you just talk to Taemin-“ I start but he cuts me off with a fierce glare, his jaw clenching with anger.
“It’s not about that.” He pulls me through the crowd, looking around like he was going to get caught any moment by someone. Stepping out into the fresh air and pushing past some drunken teens, he pulls me around the side of the house, and half way down the cobble stone foot path, the trees masking our appearance from the rest of the party.

“What do you want? My feet hurt, I’m exhausted and so done with this damn party.” I wave my arms around, leaning my back against the cool glass window and feeling refreshed from the humid weather.
“I saw you talking to Jinki.” I stare at him blankly for a moment, before filling up with anger and spitting back; “I am in no mood for you to be jealous-“ I begin, cut off as he smacks me over the head.
“Shut up Kibum! I am not jealous.” He hisses, holding my arms to my sides as I attempt to swat at him.
“Jesus Jonghyun, I spent ages on my hair.” Patting down my fridge, I sigh and drop my voice to a whisper before speaking once again, “Please get to the point.”  
“Whatever. Sulli is Jinki’s step-sister.” Oh, small world indeed.
“So?” I shrug, not understanding why he thinks I would care that they are related, disinterested in the topic as I fix up my jumper skirt straps.
“No, god damn it Kibum, she is evil.” He persists, his eyes pleading for me to understand. But how could I? I think Sulli is sweet, and if she was dating Jonghyun she must be a decent human, perhaps he is just bored with her and is finding any excuse to break up. Typical. I’ve seen him do it a thousand times.
“Stop! Whatever is going on between you and your girlfriend is your own business. Plus, didn’t you say I had to hate you?” I try to move around him, but he grabs my shoulders, frightening me a little as he shakes me.
“She blackmailed me into the relationship.” His words were blunt, shocking me, She did what? Why would she? What could she possibly gain from dating Jonghyun? “From what I hear they are close-“
“Gwiboon? Are you alright?” Both our eyes flick over to a curious Jinki, who had pushed past the trees to reveal what must have looked strange, suddenly becoming shy as he spoke again, “I just came out for some air and I thought I heard some arguing…” He blushes lightly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Mind your own business.” Jonghyun spits, Jinki looks a little hurt and surprised by the sudden attack.
“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure she was ok.” He replies, eyes dropping to the ground.
“”Jonghyun, shut up, he was only trying to help.” I scowl, feeling protective of Jinki, shoving Jonghyuns’ hands away.
“I’m sorry. I’ll just-“ Jinki tries to slink away but I shake my head quickly and rebut, “It’s fine, Jonghyun-oppa was leaving.” I speak through gritted teeth, glaring at Jonghyun who sighs and walks off.

Jinki stares around awkwardly, fidgeting with his pants as if unsure whether to stay or go. I slide to the ground, settling on the pavement and bringing my knees to my chest. At this point I didn’t even seem to mind if my dress became dirty, I just wanted to disappear to my warm bed, curl up with my laptop and window shop through the Angelic Pretty website.

“Are you going to sit down or not?” I ask quietly, my eyes flicking to Jinki, who looked instantly relieved and within seconds, he was beside me on the ground.
“I’m sorry for interrupting.” He bows his head apologetically, his chocolate brown eyes drawing me in close to him and I feel lost in them, like all my worries will melt away just by looking into them. I feel so warm, my stomach filling with butterflies as he smiles.
“It’s fine, really.” I drop my gaze to my lap, tightening the grip around my legs.
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Me? Pfft, why?” I raise my eyebrows, resting my cheek on my knees, my eyes darting to his full lips.
“Because, you…um- well, are so different from the other girls I’ve met. You seem so, blunt. But kind and caring. Just from what I have seen anyway.”
“Way to win a girl over.” I snort sarcastically, smacking his shoulder.
“Yah! It’s true, plus you are so beautiful. You remind me….” He trails off, narrowing his eyes a little, “Have we met before?” My heart thunders in my chest, a lump forming in my throat as I quickly shake my head.
“Never. I…would remember you.” I smile a little, nudging him playfully.
“I see,” He smiles cheekily, poking my cheek, “Well, how about I tell you about myself?”
“Sure.”
“Well, I am a senior from-“  He stops, face going a glowing red as his stomach growls, “Ani… how embarrassing.” He cringes, holding his stomach.
“You haven’t eaten yet?” My Umma instincts kick in, wanting to look after my senior, “We can grab something from inside.” I insist, jumping up and holding out my hand for him to take it, all my worries and tiredness disappearing.

He takes my hand, pulling himself to his feet. “They only have vegan stuff in there.” His face scrunches up in the cutest way and I can’t help but laugh, poking his nose. I think for a moment before suggesting, “There’s a food joint only a couple of blocks from here.” I smile, wanting any excuse to get away from this noise.
“Sure, should we invite Minho and Taemin or…?”
“No, by the way they were looking at each other, I’m sure they are making out by now.” I laugh, reluctantly letting go of Jinkis’ hand.
“Well, they really were into each other.” He hums, “Minho has had a crush on him for what seems like forever. All I have heard for a week is about how excited he was for this party.”
“How did they even meet? You aren’t at the same school as me, right?” I act dumb, pursing my lips as I look up at my senior with big eyes, leading him down the street and away from the noise.
“No, those two goofballs met at a school soccer match. Playing on opposing teams, and since Minho seemed to have scored the boys’ phone number, they have been talking non-stop. He is so smitten with Taemin, and I see why, he is cute.” Jinki chuckles lightly and I frown a little, wondering why Taemin has never told me about this, surely if he was interested in someone, he would talk to me about it. Is that why he was so protective of his phone earlier?
“You think he is cute, Oppa?” I tease, getting my hopes up only to have them crushed in his reply.
“Yeah, but in a little brother kind of way, I’m as straight as they come. I like girls.” While his sentence rolled off his tongue with ease, I felt a twinge in my stomach, my heart sinking, Of course he likes girls, stupid. He is only interested in talking with you because you are a girl. He shoots me a heartfelt smile, along with an embarrassed laugh, my lips tight as we continue to walk.
“I’m surprised you aren’t embarrassed to come out with me like this.” I change the topic, gesturing to my outfit as we near the food joint.
“Why would I be? Just a cute dress and a petticoat, don’t even worry about it.”

I push the door open, the bright fluroscent lights flicking on the ceiling, the grease noticeable on the cheap tables, the tiles cracked and tarnished, but I couldn’t deny how wonderful the smell was.

“What are you having?” He asks, looking up as we both browse the overhead menu.
“erm….I don’t know.” I chuckle lightly, What would a girl have? Probably just a side of fries, but I’m starving, I haven’t eaten since lunch.
“I’m most definitely having chicken.” He grins, his face glowing of child-like innocence.
“A whole bucket?”
“Oh yeah. I’ll give it a go.”
“We could share?” The suggestion surprising us both, but he nods a little, his smile growing wider.
“Sure, take a seat and I’ll grab it.” Bowing a little in thanks, I duck off to one of the cleanest looking booths and slide in, digging through my star shaped bag for my phone. Turning the device on, my phone explodes with messages from Taemin. “Where are you?” “where did you go?” “Are you alright?” “Kibum, I’m worried.”

I sneak a peek over at the counter, catching Jinki peering over at me shyly, before directing his attention back to the cook. Smiling, I dial the familiar number of my younger, barely ringing a few times before a panicked Taemin answers.

“Bummie! Where are you?” He asks, the loud noise in the background making it hard to hear anything he is saying.
“I’m just… I went for a walk.” I reply, tracing my finger over the napkin tray.
“Alone? Are you crazy?”
“No, I’m with someone.” I reply quietly.
“With who? Jonghyun?” His tone turned from panic, to concern in only moments.
“No, Jinki.” I fidget with the side of the metal holder, Taemin dead silent on the other end of the phone, taking minutes to respond.
“Kibum, he isn’t-“ Annoyed with his assumption, I cut him off in moments.
“I know! It doesn’t matter!” I hush, angry that he just assumes I have feelings for my new found friend.
“Ok, if you are sure…” I hang up, no longer wanting to speak to him, angry at the entire situation. He likes girls, so what, it’s not like I’m interested. Looking over at the counter, I realised he has collected his bucket of chicken, the biggest smile on his face as he approaches the table. I remain still, watching, admiring this adorable teen. Just friends. My heart sinks, and I no longer feel like eating, just scooping up a drumstick and picking at the skin.

“You alright?” He asks, taking a bite of the chicken, his face bright with the joy of a child.
“Ah…. Just suddenly not feeling well.” I lie, the corner of my lips twitching up in a fake smile and he nods, consuming the food. God damn it Taemin, you have ruined this for me. I put the chicken stick down, smiling softly. “I think I’m going to do, I don’t think the alcohol is sitting well with me.” I give a faint smile, the lies rolling off my tongue naturally.
“I didn’t think you had anything to drink.” He replies, watching me curiously.
“Ah, had a bit before I got to the party.” I lie yet again, my cheeks heating in embarrassment, “So, I’m going to head off.” I slide out of the booth quickly, stumbling a little on my heels as he grabs my arm.
“Can I call you?”  He asks, his face still a little flushed with alcohol.
“How about you message me on Kakao?” I ask as an alternative as he passes me his phone, not being able to hold in my smile as I notice his wallpaper is of Cinamoroll. That’s freaking adorable.
"Sure." He replies as I open the app, type in my Kakao ID and hand it back to him quickly.

“See you, Gwiboon.” He calls out as I hurry out the door, my heart racing in my chest. Man, that boy is going to kill me.

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A/N; Finally, 2min and Onkey, woo!!!! <3 <3 My ultimate feels *^*

Thank you to all the people who have subscribed, commented and even you silent readers ^^ You guys help motivate me to continue this story ^^ xx