[CONTENTID1]Chapter 19[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]"Umm, Phoenix?" A tap on my shoulder sends me turning around. It was a small girl, and I recognized her as one of my fans. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She gestures to the corner of the cafeteria. I nodded unsurely, and went there with her. 

"Can I help you?" The girl nods faintly. 

"I was just wondering, are the rumors true? Why are you hanging around a like Kim Taeyeon?" She asks with a straight face. 

I stand there, shocked. Was she serious? Unfortunately, the petite girl really was. Her eyes were staring straight at me, with no hint of embarrassment, her face bore no hint of regret for insulting Taeyeon. Quickly recomposing myself, I smile as politely as I can. 

"What do you think?" I say sweetly. "Do you think the rumors are true?" She gapes at me, not expecting that answer. "Do you think Taeyeon is a ? Do you think that girls are defined by how many men they sleep with? Even though it isn't your place to judge, and everyone makes mistakes?" 

The tiny girl fumbles for an answer, her small face blood red. "I-I didn't mean it like that!" She stammers hastily. "I...no, I don't think it's true—you would never do something like that!" 

I sigh, and pat her head reassuringly. "Let me tell you something important: Taeyeon isn't what you make her out to be. She's smart, nice, incredibly funny, and what she does isn't anyone's business. I'm glad you think that way about me. Please hold other people to those high regards, too." I walk away cooly, and back to the lunch table.  

The short walk gave me a moment to realize that I might have damaged my reputation further.  

However, none of that saddens me. If these people were only nice to me because I was popular, then good riddance. Now, I know that true friends stick together, till the very end. 

A lesson I wished I learned earlier in my life. 

Just as I thought, Miyeon and Jisung were smitten with Taeyeon by the end of lunch. "She's totally nicer than you would've thought," Miyeon whispered to me one day. "I can't believe people hate her!" I agreed. 

By the end of next week, Taeyeon is now a permanent member of our table, and had the approval of everyone there. The gossip about her lessened, once people got bored about repeating the same story over and over again. However, the majority of the kids at SM High were still prejudiced against Taeyeon, although it's diminishing slowly.

As for me, it's all half and half. The fan I encountered turned out to be quite the gossiper, and by the next morning, word of our meeting had gotten out. Some people were on my side. Others hated me. I lost a third of my admirers, and I bet I would've lost more, if Exo stopped hanging out with me permanently. Apparently, many of them took it as a sign of good faith.  

I didn't care. As long as I had my friends, then nothing mattered. The approval of strangers didn't worry me anymore, like it did when I first got here. Taeyeon seemed to realize that too, as she stopped fooling around with the other cheerleaders, and, as far as I knew, stopped dating and doing crazy stunts for attention. Even Exo noticed her change in behavior, and are gradually forgiving her. Not completely, but it's a start. 

Everything was calm, until Kai decided it would be a good idea to teach me how to dance. 

"You're doing it wrong!" Kai yells out to me. He sits on the bench in the empty dance studio, criticizing my moves. Well, if you can call them moves. It's more like clumsy, half hearted steps and arm waving. "I have never seen a perso