"I'm a terrible friend!" Zitao whines, burying her face in her arms and causing students to send annoyed glances at her.

Probably because they're in the library right now. 

"Taozi, being jealous doesn't make you a terrible friend." Yifan pats Zitao on the head in her awkward attempt at comfort. She cant really be blamed though; for someone who plays basketball in her spare time she's incredibly awkward and ungraceful. 

"For once I agree with Yifan. It's natural to feel jealous Tao, it's not like you're being a to Jongdae just because he's gotten Junmyeon's attention." Lu Han adds and then pauses, realising something "-Not that you're being a to him anyway." She hastily adds. 

Zitao just groans into her arms. 

Life is so unfair. Why did she have to fall for a straight girl? Is this God's version of a sick 'joke'? 

Lu Han and Yifan exchange concerned looks which then urges Lu Han to speak up again.

"Maybe you should just tell her how you feel-" Before Lu Han finishes, Zitao's head shoots up so quickly Yifan almost gets whiplash just from seeing it. Her eyes are bulging out almost to the point of being cartoon-like and the pair sitting before her do their best not to laugh.

"Never in a million years!" The youngest whisper-shouts wondering why her friend even thought that that was an option. 

"Why not?" Yifan asks and Lu Han nods vigorously as she pats her friend on the shoulder. 

"Exactly, Yifan. Why not? You tell her she feels, she says she likes you back and then you get together and be that annoying couple I hate-" Lu Han is cut off by another whine from Zitao so she glares at her friend and then continues "Or she says no-" Another whine from Zitao "-and you finally get the closure you need in order to get over her." Lu Han shrugs like it's the easiest thing in the world. 

Zitao wants to crawl into a hole and die. How could she ever get over Junmyeon? She's absolutely perfect. Why would Zitao want to give up fighting for her? Zitao wants to keep trying, she doesn't want 'closure'. 

Jongin is waiting for Zitao at the benches in the outside eating area. It's not an incredibly ideal place in the winter but the boarding school is basically in the middle of nowhere so they couldn't exactly take a 5 minute walk to Costa to talk. Zitao didn't mind too much though; at least there's hardly anyone around. 

She cuts right to the topic at hand once she's sat across from Jongin. 

"Hi. So, I have a few ideas on how we go about operation Save Junmyeon." Jongin says nothing about the name and continues to sit silently whilst Zitao continues with her plan. 

"I need you to find out what Jongdae's type is." Zitao pauses to see Jongin's reaction - a blink - before explaining "Maybe we can find out if Junmyeon has a trait Jongdae doesn't like and then exploit it." 

Again, Jongin remains quiet and unmoving. 

"...It'd be weird if I asked him, since I'm not as close to him as someone like you." 

"I thought you guys were, like, 'besties'?" Jongin asks, and Zitao swears she hears something bitter in Jongin's tone but she chooses to ignore it. 

"Yah, but it'll just be weird if I go up to him like 'What do you like in a girl?'" Zitao whines, then her eyes widen "What if he gets the wrong idea and it ruins our friendship?!" 

Jongin stares at Zitao for a few moments contemplating and the other briefly notes how much prettier Jongin looks up close; her tan skin compliments her long, chocolate brown curls (Zitao likes chocolate.), and her figure is all curves and soft edges - a contrast to the lanky figure of Zitao herself. Her lips are plump too and Zitao has no idea why she's even looking at that. 

Jongin's lips press into a not-that-thin line. "...I'll try-" She starts and Zitao can't help the small cheer that leaves "-but I'm not making any promises." is all Jongin says. 

Zitao thanks her about 200 times before they both part ways. 

Zitao is on her way to her science class when she feels her phone vibrate in her blazer pocket. The blonde quickly scans the hallway for any sign of a teacher and then pulls out her white Samsung, the screen lighting up with a message from Yifan. 

Yifan: myeon and dae r gonna get icecream after school

Zitao: give me more details!!!!!!!!!!!

The bell rings and Zitao puts her phone on silent and shoved in hastily into her pocket. She'll have to read Yifan's text at lunch, which meant she spent the whole of the first and second periods with a constant itch at the back of her mind.

"You did great today, Jongin. Just practise the bridge a little more and you're good to go!" Mr. Park claps his hands together as he sorts out his music sheets for the next violin student, his red hair falling in front of his eyes as his glasses slipped down his nose a little. 

Jongin nods, quietly thanks Mr. Park and awkwardly shuffles out of the music room, closing the door behind her. A body then almost crashes into her side but it luckily stops an inch away. 

"Jongin!" Zitao exclaims before said girl has the chance to even face the other. 

The brunette blinks a few times as she stares up at Zitao, wondering what to say. Jongin isn't very familiar with the whole 'talking to people' thing. Luckily, she doesn't have to worry because Zitao is quick to follow up with: "Breaking news: Jong-Myeon are going to the ice cream parlour by Kingsley after school, so so are we"

It was quite a bit of information to take in, but eventually Jongin's brain catches up and gapes at the girl staring at her questioningly. 

"Isn't that stalking?!" She whisper-shouts, conscious people walking by might hear her. Zitao merely shrugs in response and lets a dangerous smirk form on her lips. 

"I don't know what you're talking about. We're just two friends getting ice cream after school, that's got nothing to do with stalking." Zitao winks and tells Jongin the details before gliding off to wherever it is she needs to be. 

Jongin is sat on the grass with her best friends Sehun and Kyungsoo in the outside area (it's a sunny day, which is rare in England, so they decided to take advantage of it) as she practically buries her face in her salad in embarrassment. The two haven't stopped teasing her since she told them Zitao was taking her to the ice cream parlour after school. 

"Our little NiNi has a date~" Sehun coos as he leans in to pinch Jongin's already red cheeks. She swats his hands away and huffs, glaring at the youngest of the trio. 

"It's not a date." Jongin whines and then slaps Kungsoo's arm when he rolls his eyes "She just wants me there so we can stop Jongdae and Junmyeon getting together, remember?" 

Sehun and Kyungsoo exchange glances and Jongin thinks her friends are s. Especially since the only time they get on this well is when they're planning something that's very bad for Jongin. After a moment of so of glaring at the two as they communicate through their eyes or whatever it is they do, Kyungsoo finally speaks up. 

"If it's not a date then make it one," He says matter-of-factly, as if it were no big deal. Which it IS. "Make her fall for your laugh that sounds like a dying whale and your inability to form proper sentences around anyone but me and Sehun." 

Jongin thinks she might need to slap Kyungsoo again. 

"You're quite the catch, NiNi." Sehun giggles and if his giggle weren't so cute he'd be dead by now. Luckily for him, Jongin has a soft spot for Sehun laughing. 

"I get it, I get it." She sighs, letting herself fall back until she's laying down. "No way will I ever get Zitao to like me back, you can shut up now." 

"I don't understand why you even like her in the first place." Sehun leans down to poke Jongin's cheek, who glares at him in return. 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes before reminding Sehun that he's too in love with Yixing to even notice anyone else; which then causes Sehun to smile like a maniac since he's now thinking of Yixing and Jongin and Kyungsoo both grimace at him, standing up to leave him to his daydreaming. 

When Jongin gets to the jewellery shop a few blocks away from the ice cream parlour, she sees Zitao leaning against the wall wearing an all black outfit with her hood up and sunglasses on. 

Not suspicious at all. 

Reluctantly, the violinist approaches the other girl, constantly glancing around in fear of people looking at the pair strangely - even though this is most definitely not a date, Jongin still wants to look nice in hopes of getting Zitao's attention so she's wearing a pastel floral print dress that complimented her tan skin. Zitao, however, is decked out in black skinny jeans, a black shirt, and a black hoodie. They're basically complete opposites and it looks really odd as the pair stand together. Maybe Jongin is just being paranoid, though. 

"You're here!" Zitao smiles, standing up to reach her full height - taller than Jongin by a few inches. Jongin merely smiles and nods, unable to use her voice, apparently. She doesn't know why but she's always found it difficult to speak to people, choosing to use gestures and sounds instead of words. 

Zitao's smile then drops into a thin line as she spots Junmyeon and Jongdae walking to the parlour on the opposite side of the road. Jongin follows her line of sight and feels her heart skip a beat as she sees her brother. What if they got caught? Oh God, he's got so much dirt on me - I'll never be allowed to do anything ever again, Jongin thinks, trying to keep her face neutral. It's then that Zitao turns to her with a mischievous (and attractive) half smile and says 'Let's go.', walking off without waiting for Jongin (who inwardly screams because there's no backing out now).