The last couple days of rehearsal had been VERY stressful. First, I had a test in the middle of the week and I was totally not prepared for it, so I am waiting VERY anxiously to see how I did. Second, I hadn't really seen Kai that often, which is weird on his part since he always seem to want to see me. And finally, besides the fact that the show is a day away, I have NO idea when Jackson is supposed to show up!

Things are not looking up for Tiana right now. Tiana is stressed. Why is Tiana talking in third person? Who knows? It was Friday, the last day of rehearsal and everyone was on edge. Myself included. I could tell. Nalani and I hadn't practiced our duet in a while and it was the first time everyone was seeing it during our run through. 

Not only that, we had an audience during our rehearsal. Sometimes a lot of old members come to the rehearsal and then they see the performance the next day and this year was no exception, only now not only did we have past members from the team, but we also had the clan of brothers I had met earlier in the semester. Only, not all of them had shown up. 

Kris, Suho, Chen, Luhan, Lay, D.O and Kai had shown up to our rehearsal. WHY you ask? Well, their football team didn't have practice, so they're all sitting on one side of the cement where we were practicing and you know how I don't like surprises. It totally through me off my game because they were there. We were running through the second to the last dance, and then it was me and Nalani's duet.

We finish the group number, grab a drink, and then Nalani and I get in our positions to start our duet. "Can we mark it?" Nalani asked me. "Yeah. I'm okay with that." "Ladies, I need to see at least 50%." Our president said.

"Got it!" We both yelled. 

"Let's go ladies!" Kris yelled. I roll my eyes and try to concentrate. I feel Kai's eyes on me, but I need to stay focused. We're doing our choreography and we're getting towards the end of the number and suddenly, I hear; "Woohoo! That's my girl!" Nalani and I both halt in our dance and I turn to see a familiar face. 

I see Jackson standing 20 feet away from me. His usual brown hair and been dyed blonde, which oddly worked for him. He had on a black sweater, jeans, and a pair of black shoes. He looked good. REALLY good. The stress that I had been feeling all night suddenly vanishes and I feel a smile form on my face. "Jackson!" I run to Jackson and he hugs me, while lifting me off the ground and spinning me around a couple times. 

"You're here!"

"In the flesh." He smiled.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, girl. You're still tiny."

"Oh shut up." I said as I hit Jackson on his chest. 

"You know I'm just messing with you." Jackson smirked. 

"Hey! I know you two haven't seen each other in a while, but can we finish our duet?" Nalani yelled. 

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry." I yelled back. I look at Jackson and take his hand. "Come watch us." 

"Okay." He smiled. I pull Jackson towards the seated area and I rewind to a few moments before Jackson had interrupted us. 

"So you're the best friend from home." A voice said. Jackson turned and looked at Kai. "And you're the boyfriend I'm guessing." 

"You're smarter than you look." Kai taunted. 

"Hey, I'm sure Tiana doesn't want you and I fighting. Let's be friends, hm?" Jackson said as he raised an eyebrow and held his hand out towards Kai. 

"As long as you don't get in my way. Tiana's mine." Kai said as he took Jackson's hand.

"She's my best friend. And let me tell you something--" Jackson said as he leaned in towards Kai, so he could whisper in his ear.

"--You break her heart, I'll kick your ." Jackson threatened. 

"I won't break her heart."

"We'll see. Tiana means a lot to me." 

"She means a lot to me too." 

"Then I guess you'll have to prove yourself then." 

"I don't need to prove myself to you." Kai sneered. 

"I--" "I see you guys met." A new voice said.

I'm looking down at Kai and Jackson and I see them talking to each other. They were awfully close to one another. Why do I feel like they were probably squaring up to each other? Now that I think about it, they probably were. 

I roll my eyes and I see them separate from one another. I sit inbetween them and drink some water from my water bottle. "So Jackson, how long have you known Tiana?" I heard another voice say. I see Suho sitting next to Kai. "Tiana, who's this?" Jackson asked me.

"That's Suho. He's Kai's older brother and a close friend." 

"Are you cheating on me? You found a new guy best friend?" Jackson teasingly. 

I roll my eyes and smile a small smile. "No. I can have more than one best friend Jackson. Geez." 

"Fine. Nice to meet you Suho. I've known her since the end of middle school and all of high school." Jackson smiled. 

"Wow. You guys have known each other for that long?"

"It feels like I've known him my whole life." 

"You enjoy having me in your life." Jackson snickered. 

"Yeah. Yeah I do. How's your mom?" I asked him.

"She's great actually. She might consider moving to the states, but I think she likes it best in China." 

"I wouldn't blame her." I giggled. Kai is overlooking the conversation. 'Why can't she be like that with me?' He thought. Suho heard Kai's thought and gave him a pat on the back. 'It's only natural that she's more comfortable with him since she's known him longer.'

Kai looks at Tiana once more and sees how happy she is to see Jackson. He can't help but smile since this was really the first time he's seen her smile like that. He wanted to see her smile more. If Jackson was able to get her the smile like that, why can't he? 

"All right ladies, let's do one last one through of the show. I'm sorry to the audience, but if you want to see the show come out tomorrow after the football game and you can see these wonderful ladies dance." The president said. 

"Where are you staying?" Tiana asked Jackson.

"At a hotel near by. I didn't want to intrude on you and Nalani. But I can come over, right?" 

"Of course. That's not even a question. You can come over tomorrow and I can take you to breakfast." 

"That sounds great. I'll text you. Actually, I'll call you when your practice is over, if Kai doesn't mind." Jackson said bringing Kai out of his thoughts. 

"Um sure. I'm sure you guys want to catch up. I don't want to be in the way." Kai said.

Tiana gave him this look of shock, and confusion. But she was impressed by his behavior. Tiana turned too Jackson and said, "I'll text you. In the morning, we have all the time in the world to catch up." She smiled. Jackson smiled too, probably understanding the tone in Tiana's voice. 

"All right, Miss Thing. I'll see you tomorrow then." Jackson hugs Tiana and then has his hand out to Kai. "It was nice meeting you, Kai. Treat Tiana well." Kai shakes Jackson's hand and says, "I will. You have my word." 

Jackson smiles and waves good bye to everyone and leaves.

/ / / / / / / / / / / 

I was quite impressed by Kai's behavior when Jackson had shown up. I wonder what they were talking about when I was going over the duet with Nalani. Then again, they did look like they were at each other's throats. Boys. I'm really excited to have breakfast tomorrow with Jackson. 

I can't believe it has been three months since I had last seen him. I was midway through my shower thinking about what happened not even an hour ago and I just remembered that Kai was in my room still. I quickly finish my shower, although I was enjoying it, very much.

I put some lotion on, then put on a tank top, and a pair of jogger pants. I throw my hair up in a bun and head back out into my room. Kai was glued to the screen on his phone until I saw his nose twitch and he put his phone down. 

"You smell good." He smiled. "Thank you. I did shower after all." I throw on a sweatshirt since Kai did promise to take me to get some food, unless he decided not to during my shower. That would be pretty awful. "You and Jackson seemed to be getting along." I mentioned. 

"He's okay. He's protective of you." 

"I told you." 

"But I told him that I'm just as protective and he doesn't have to kick my ." 

I turn around with wide eyes and look at Kai. "He said that to you?" I said pissed off.

"Yeah, but I don't think---"

"That little sneak." I pick up my phone and call Jackson. 

He answers almost immediately. "Hey, Tia---"

"What the hell Jackson!" 

"I didn't do anything!" 

"Cut the bull. You told Kai that you'd kiss his ?!"

"I told him, I'd kick his if he broke your heart. Don't be so dramatic." 

"But you don't just tell people that Jackson, that's rude. Especially, if you're just meeting them for the first time."

"I wasn't offended Tiana. He's protecting his friend." Kai said.

"See! He wasn't offended by it. I think you owe me an apology." 

"Go to hell." 

"We're still going to breakfast tomorrow?" Jackson asked. 

"Yes. Hang up before I change my mind." 

"Noted. Night Miss Thing." Jackson hung up. 

"I can't believe him." I murmured.

Kai is looking at me and he pulls me close to him. "That is what I deal with on a daily basis." I said. 

"He's a character." Kai chuckled.

"Yeah he is."

"Tiana,"

"Yes?"

Kai is looking at me with a sad look in his eye. I bring my hand up to his face and gently caress his cheek. "What's wrong?" I asked. 

"I guess I'm a little jealous of you and Jackson's relationship. You looked so happy to see him and---" 

"I figured as much. When you said that you didn't want to be in the way so we could catch up, I could tell it didn't really sit right with you." I said honestly. 

"I just---I don't want to lose you Tiana. I just---I don't know what I'm saying." 

"You care about me." I said. Kai looked up at me and smiled a small smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." He nudged my forehead and kissed my forehead. 

"Come on. Let's go get some midnight munchies." I said with a smile. 

"Okay." Kai chuckled. 

/ / / / / / / /

I am glad to see that someone can make Tiana happy. But I wonder about this Kai person. Something about him seems a bit  . . . off. Tiana kept telling me how she feels like she's in the dark about something and I can sense that. I really hope I'm wrong about this. Kai seems to be the one for Tiana, but with this thing that's clearly still keeping them apart, I don't know what is in store for the two of them. 

Maybe I'll get a little more information about this when I see Tiana tomorrow. Could whatever Kai is hiding be able to bring the two of them closer?