I step out of the taxi and slide the straps of my backpack over my shoulders. I shut the door and the taxi hurries off into the heavy traffic. I take in a deep breath. Here I am.

Highschool.

I let out a breath before walking up the steps to my new school, narrowly avoiding the other students pouring in and out of the front doors. I hurry through the main hallway and off into another hallway, up a set of stairs and into a similar hallway. This hallway is quieter. I find my locker with ease. I drop my bag before opening my locker. I shrug off my jacket before putting it in along with a couple of textbooks before locking my locker.

As I put back on my backpack and looked up, my eyes meet another boy's. I swallow, my nerves taking over as I quickly look down and away from him. When I look back up, he's leaning against the locker right in front of me. I swallow again, looking up into his eyes once again. I quickly rub my sweaty palms on my jeans.

"Hey. You new here?" he asks.

I'm surprised upon hearing his soft, musical like voice. "Y-Yeah."

I quickly curse myself for stuttering but I can't help myself. I'm talking to a very attractive young male.

He simply smiles. "I'm Luhan."

"I'm Sehun," I say immediately, giving him a small smile.

He laughs. "I didn't ask for your name."

My smile instantly fades, quickly categorizing him under "cool kid".

"You're interesting though. Nice to meet you, Sehun-ah," he says.

His sudden kindness surprises me.

"Nice to meet you too," I say. "So uh, how long have you been here for?"

"A couple of years," he answers nonchalantly. "What are you? Freshman?"

"Sophomore," I say nervously.

He barks out a laugh. "Are you serious? You look so young," he says, reaching out to pinch my cheek.

I resist the urge to flinch and swat his hand away. I hated it when people told me I looked young. "Are you a sophomore too?" I ask, taking in his young looking features.

He grins. "Nah, I'm a senior."

"O-Oh..." I say, trailing off awkwardly.

He laughs. "Just kidding, I'm a sophomore. Just like you. Seems like we'll be around each other a lot."

"Y-Yeah, maybe," I say.

"Luhan hyung!" a voice yells. "Let's go."

"Coming!" he yells back. He turns to face me. "Gotta go. See you around, right?"

"Right," I say.

He grins before walking off with a slow swagger. I smile awkwardly back as I watch him leave. As soon as he's out of sight, I frown before scratching the back of my head. I let out a slow breath and check my watch. 20 minutes until class. I slowly start navigating my way through the large school to my first class. Physics.

I find the classroom with five minutes to spare. I enter the room and find that most of the seats are taken except for a few. I go to sit in one of the seats at the back.

"That's Luhan-shii's seat," the girl in the seat in front says.

I'm surprised to hear that Luhan was in physics. He doesn't exactly strike me as the kind of person who would work hard at school and care about his marks, let alone be in a difficult class that involved math and science.

"O-Oh, sorry," I stutter out.

I swallow before finding another seat near the back, away from "Luhan's seat".

Literally moments before the teacher enters, Luhan enters the room with his sickeningly perfect swagger that screams "bad boy". He is followed by two other boys. Suddenly, I notice two seats beside "Luhan's seat". I watch as Luhan and his friends made their way to the three empty seats. The other seats have been taken.

Luhan's eyes meet mine for the third time today. He gives me a quick, flirty wink before taking his seat and I almost flush as everyone in the class turns to face me.

"Ladies and gentlemen. First day of school, first class. Lucky me," the teacher says, standing at the front of the class. "As you all probably know, I'm Mr. Kim. Kevin Kim as you all know there are many teachers with the last name of Kim."

Mr. Kim starts out by introducing electricity, what we would be focusing on for the first part of the year. He hands out two worksheets. While he explains and demonstrates and helps show how to figure out the problems, I'm already working on them, barely listening to Mr. Kim. I finish the first worksheet within the first 10 minutes of class.

"When you're done these worksheets, please come to the front of the class to get the next two. These will be due next class," Mr. Kim announces.

I check my watch. 46 more minutes of class. I assume I could get through all of the worksheets before class is over. It takes me longer to finish the second worksheet and I immediately realize that the worksheets get harder. I go up to the front of the class to get the next two worksheets. As I'm walking back to my seat, I'm met by Luhan and one of the boys he walked in with.

"You always wait for Luhan-ah to go first," the boy says, his voice cold and unforgiving.

"S-Sorry, I didn't know," I say, my nerves kicking in.

"He's new. Lay off, Xiumin hyung," Luhan says, waving his hand.

"But--" Xiumin protests.

"He'll be an exception," Luhan says, cutting him off.

Xiumin sighs before nodding. "Okay."

Xiumin goes ahead to get the papers while Luhan stays to linger behind with me.

"Sorry, you don't know anything here," Luhan says. "Be glad that you met me first."

I resist the urge to wince upon hearing his condescending voice. "Yeah," I manage to get out.

"We probably don't have all of our classes together but for the ones we do, you'd better be careful," he says with a grin.

I nods. "Thanks for the warning."

He glances to the side and his grin fades, his face returning to his usual bad boy swagger. "Better go work on these next two worksheets."

Xiumin brushes past me and to Luhan as they make their way back to their seats. Slowly, I find my way back to the only empty seat in the room.

When class ends, I only have the last page of the last worksheet left to do. I quickly put the worksheets in my binder and into my bag before finding my way to art. I'm more than surprised when I see that Luhan and the other boy who followed Luhan in physics are there.

"Seems like we have two classes together," Luhan says with a grin.

I give him a small smile. "Yeah."

"How are you managing so far?" he asks.

I don't fail to notice that the other boy doesn't participate in the conversation. I find the boy looking very closely at me for a few minutes before returning to his relaxed position against the wall.

"I think I'm doing pretty well so far," I say, returning my attention to Luhan.

He nods. "You're good in physics?"

I shrug awkwardly. "I think so."

He gives me a genuine smile. "Do you enjoy art?"

I nod. "Yeah, it's something I like to do in my free time."

He laughs. "I don't have any free time... Too busy being popular, if you know what I mean," he says with a wink.

I resiste the urge to wince upon hearing his ego.

"Luhan hyung," the boy says.

I look over at the boy, surprised at hearing his low voice. While looking over, I see that many other people have also arrived but none dared to stand close to Luhan and the other boy. Along with that, I don't fail to notice the bad boy edge the other boy had, along with a striking face.

"Hey... Sehun-ah is it?" Luhan asks.

I nod and try not to show how much it hurt that he didn't remember my name. "Yeah."

"This is Kris-ah," he says, gesturing to the boy.

"Hi," I say. "Nice to meet you."

Kris simply nods. I don't let his lack of answer bother me, I have started to grow used to the roughness of Luhan's group. I examine Kris, taking in his appearance. He's slouching as he leans against the wall. Tight black and white, patterned pants that show off the curves of his legs, a gray shirt along with a white blazer trimmed with black. He pairs off his outfit with a pair of black dress shoes. I can't help but notice the designer labels on all of his clothes and can't stop myself from imagining the cost of the simple shirt.

"He's a rich boy," a voice says, coming from behind me.

I jump and turn to see a boy with hair that falls in his face. He wears a simple black shirt and a gray leather jacket along with black pants and a gold chain. Needless to say, I think he's attractive. Especially with the cute face he has.

"Uh... Hey," I say nervously.

"He's a rich boy too," Kris says simply.

The new boy grins, showing off a dimple in his right cheek. "I'm Lay. Nice to meet you."

Oh god, that dimple..!

I smile. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Sehun."

"Heard you were good in physics," Lay says.

I drop my head as I feel myself flush at the compliment. "Heh... Not really..."

Lay slides an arm over my shoulders, pulling me close... A little too close for my liking but I really can't complain as this Lay guy is pretty attractive. "So Luhan hyung, are we letting this kid in?" Lay asks.

Luhan shrugs. "We'll see. He might not make the cut."

"What?" I ask, confused.

"The cut," Luhan repeats. "We choose a few boys to try out to join our group. You're trying out. After the first week, we choose one or two to join. The rest are cut."

"What if I don't want to join?" I ask.

Kris barks out a laugh. "You'd be crazy if you didn't want to. We're popular. Everyone wants to join."

I shrug. "But some people don't want the humiliation of being cut when they first join a new school and are trying to make some solid friends."

"Good luck with that. We aren't your every day school," Luhan says with a wry smile out of sympathy or sarcasm, I don't know.

"Yeah... I've noticed," I say.

Luhan looks over at the door. "Anyways... Time for art."

Kris goes in first with Luhan and Lay, I follow after. The rest of the students who are gathered outside of the classroom go in after us.

I notice instantly that it's four to a table. I glance over at where Luhan, Kris, and Lay sit as I stand like a blind deer, looking around the classroom. The only tables left with seats were empty tables and the one with the popular boys.

"Come sit with us," Lay says, coming up beside me. He sticks his hand out over my shoulder, grabbing three sketchbooks.

I look over at him. "You sure?"

He smiles again, flashing me his dimple once again. "Yeah, of course... You might as well get used to us while you try out."

I can't help but smile back at him. "Okay."

"Personally," he says, his voice dropping to a whisper as he brings his lips close to my ear. "I think you're guaranteed a spot."

My eyes widen. "You really think so?"

"Luhan hyung already likes you," he says with a grin. "He's practically already accepted you."

"So Luhan-shii's the leader of your group?" I ask, grabbing a sketchbook for myself.

He nods and grabs three of three different types of pencils and three pens. "Yep. He's not unfair though. He's good to us."

I follow his lead and grab the three different types of pencils and a pen. "That's good."

"I was let in last year... And I've been treated greatly," he says. "I had a great time. Hopefully you will too this year."

I nod. "Thanks but... I don't have a lot of money. I don't have designer clothes and high-end backpacks. I don't have top quality pens or--" He cuts me off with a soft voice.

"You don't need that," he says gently. "Luhan ĥyung doesn't come from the most wealthy family either. Don't worry."

I don't know what to say or do other than blink.

He pats my shoulder. "Come on. We can talk more later."

I let him lead me to the table with Luhan and Kris. Throughout the class, I notice that they have side conversations while listening to the teacher. Delinquents but good students. Which surprised me.

The 80 minute class is over before I know it.

Luhan, Kris, and Lay all leave class together and I go the other way towards my locker to get my lunch.

"Oh Sehun-ah?" Luhan calls.

I stop and turn to see Luhan looking over his shoulder at me. "Yes, Luhan-shii?"

"Come find us in the caf, I'll save you a spot," he says. And with that, he walks away with Kris and Lay.

I quickly go to my locker to get my lunch before heading to the cafeteria where I find Luhan with Xiumin, Kris, Lay, and a few others who I don't recognize. Nervously, I approach the table. Luhan must have sensed my presence because he looks up at me.

"Hey Sehun-ah," Luhan says, grinning. "Meet Chen-ah and Tao-ah, a part of the group... And Suho-ah and Kai-ah, they're trying out."

They nod at me when their names are mentioned. I nod back at them before sliding into the empty seat in-between Luhan and Kai.

"First day, I heard," Kai says.

I turn to look at him and immediately noticed the designer clothes. "Yeah..."

"Getting around pretty well?" he asks.

"Yeah, I've had both of my classes with Luhan-shii so far," I answer.

"Lucky, haha," he says. "I'd kill to be near him. He's got such an innocent face. It's adorable."

I shrug awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess..."

"Though apparently he's really not that innocent... If you know what I mean," he says with a wolfish grin.

We fall into silence and I focus on eating my lunch. Occasionally, I'd catch Luhan looking at me, but I know better than to question him. At one point, I find Luhan outright staring at me but I pretend not to notice until Kai elbows me.

"Sehun-ah... Luhan-shii's staring at you," Kai stage-whispers.

I flush and elbow Kai back, whispering. "Ah, Kai-shii! He can hear you!"

Kai simply grins, letting out a loud laugh before the bell rings, signaling that lunch is over. He smirks before standing up, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking off in that already mastered bad boy swagger.

"He's right, you know," a husky voice whispers in my ear.

I jump and turn to see Luhan grinning at me. I flush. "Wh-Wha?" I ask.

"I was staring at you," he murmurs, causing my face to go even redder.

"W-Why?" I ask, nervous.

"And if you were wondering... I'm really not that innocent," he purrs, ignoring my question before stalking off.

There's a whistle behind me and I turn to see Kris with Tao slightly leaning against him.

"I've never seen Luhan hyung like that with a newcomer before," Kris says as if it were an explanation for his whistle.

I swallow before nodding and walking to my next class... English. I groan inwardly, it's my worst subject, the language I just can't get.

When I get there, I'm still surprised to see Luhan. I know that everyone has to take English but that means everyone... And that means the chances of me being with Luhan is even lower. I notice that Kai's also in the class, sitting near Luhan.

Luhan waves me over, signaling to the empty seat beside him. I give him a small smile and thank him before sitting down.

"Yah, I think Luhan-shii likes you," Kai says with a grin, sitting on my other side.

I flush. "Yah, you keep making assumptions."

He shrug, still grinning. "But they're right, aren't they?"

I rub the back of my neck and look down at my desk, not answering.

He throws his head back, letting out a loud laugh. "You're cute, Sehunnie."

"Sehunnie?" I ask.

He shrugs. "It's cute, don't you think?"

I shrug, my cheeks heating up again. "Y-Yeah... I guess so..."

Luhan slides an arm over the back of my chair and I turn to look at him. He's facing the other way, talking to Tao but when I look over, he turns his head to look at me. He gives me a small smile before returning to his conversation with Tao.

"Yah! Luhan-shii likes you!" Kai exclaims.

I shake my head. "N-Nah..."

He laughs. "He does!" He lowers his voice. "He's so jealous that we're talking... And that arm on your chair, he's possessive."

I bite my lower lip. "You think so..?"

He grins. "I know so."

All throughout class, I pay close attention to Luhan. I notice that he's paying attention in class... Or he's just really good at faking it.

I glance down at my desk for a moment and that's when Luhan looks over at me, a ghost of a smile on his lips. I shift my gaze up to his, looking at him through my eyelashes. I see a faint pink spread across his cheeks and I bite my lip to stop myself from smiling.

I'm ready to go home when the final bell rings.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Luhan says, leaning against the locker in front of me.

I glance up from my crouch by my bag. "Yeah, of course."

"Can't wait," he says with a flirty wink.

He gives me a cheeky, boyish grin before turning and walking off.