2

"Are you sure your fine now?"

"Yes darling, I'm totally fine" She said my cheek in a comforting manor, however her voice was weak and raspy suggesting differently. I looked into her sunken eyes that were looking into my own, her lips were chapped and she wore a weary smile that only slightly showed. A sigh escaped my lips looking at her in such a state but I forced a smile because I knew she didn't want me worrying even though I wouldn't be able to help not to. The doorbell suddenly rang but I remained still. I could hear Joshua answering the door and small chatter came after. It must be Krystal...

"Jin! Krystal's here” Joshua shouted from down stairs. I looked back at mum and she was now staring at her untouched breakfast I had brought up for her.

"You should go now, Krystal's waiting" She said calmly looking up at me giving me a much bigger smile that previously.

"Are you totally sure your fine?" I said making sure she'd be ok without me.

"Yes, now go on" She insisted, softly pushing me off the bed.

“You said that last time but you weren’t fine” I stated

“But I’m fine now darling, I  just need a little rest just like what the doctor said” she said as I gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head before walking towards the door. '"Call me if you need me ok?" I said, she nodded in response, giving one more look at her as I walked out the room, running down the stairs meeting Krystal, who had been talking to Joshua in the meantime.

"You ready?" I asked, shoving my feet into my converses.

"I should be asking you that, making me wait" She replied as we headed towards her car.

"Well, if you didn't know mothers not very well; I wasn't prepared to leave her in a bad state" I said as I sat in the passenger on her small mini cooper. Krystal started the engine and drove towards the mall near town.

"What happened?" she said in a state of concern while trying to keep her focus on the road. "It happened a couple of days ago, Mother had just came back from work and she said she was fine but later when she was preparing dinner she suddenly fell unto her knees, coughing her lungs out. Before actually fainting in my arms"

"Really?! You must have been in one hell of a shock, I would if that had ever happen to my mum"

"I was, I didn't know what to do and if it weren't for Joshua mum might not have been ok." I told her, I looked out at the passing street but my mind had gone back to that night and a shiver escaped into my spine.

"We brought her to the hospital once she got her conciseness back; they checked her blood pressure and got her blood results saying that everything looked normal. They sent us back telling us that mother may have just needed a little rest with all that work she had been doing. But I don't know, I'm still worried about her." I continued, spilling everything to Krystal.

"Don't worry too much, The doctors said she's fine and they know what they're talking about, just trust them Jin" Krys said as she searched for a parking space near the mall, It was only 10 in the morning so there wasn’t a lot of people wondering around yet. We found a spot near the mall which was also a few minutes away from the seaside.

"I know, I know it's just me worrying again" I said as we got out of the car breathing in the freshness of the air, Krys kept her hands in the warmth of her hoodie allowing me to hook my arm unto hers as we walked towards 'CoffeeMe'. It had always been a tradition of ours to get our usual Saturday morning coffee there; It was little coffee store nearby the mall, that had been owned by a close friend of our family’s. As we entered, soft music was floating in the shop along with the fainted chatter from the very few people in the shop.

"Welcome Ladies" Jonathan said from behind the counter as he saw us entering. He was a friend of Joshua and the brother of the owner of the store. He was apparently forced to work here by his mother to earn some money and be a bit more responsible like his sister. However from the many times I've came here all he seemed to do is flirt with every passing girl that came by the coffee shop.

"How can I help you?" He said with a beaming smile on his face, eyeing both Krys and I.

"Just our usual Jon"

"Are you sure that all you want?" he asked with a worrying smirk plastered on his face causing us to look at each other. Ew.

"Yes that'll be all" We both responded at the same time, Krys a little more cold then my own.

"Fine, I was just making sure" He said lifting his hands up to surrender "I'll get right to it then" Hurrying off to make our coffee.

Once we got our drinks we headed to our usual seat at the corner, near the window. We sat down and took an anticipated sip of the warm goodness in the small paper cup. We stayed in silence letting the delicious liquid flow through.

"Delicious, like always" I commented and Krys just nodded in agreement.

"So are you looking forward to Eastwood?"

"Of course I am, didn’t I tell you how much I love that place? The Dance Studios, The dancers themselves and oh the Guys there..."

"Yes, yes you haven't stopped talking about it ever since you got that letter"

"Why did you ask then?”Krystal  just shrugged her shoulders. “By the way, did I mention that I met this girl who actually does ballet as well, In fact we got on so well so quickly that I think we might actually become the best of friends..." I joked sarcastically because I knew it would catch her off guard. Krystal looked at me with a gaping mouth before taking a long sip of her coffee.

"Fine, I'll have to find a new best friend as well I guess" She joked back making both of us laugh at our own silliness. I knew Krystal since we were much younger, her mother and mine where roommates in University and stayed friends ever since. I know everything about her and she’s knows everything about me, we were always telling secrets to one another like our first crush, first kiss, that sort of thing. However we also had our own interest; I was more into performing, being on stage while she preferred reading and writing. We had also both joined Ballet Academy together but by the time we got too old for it, I moved on to ‘Summer Ville Arts while Krys dropped dance altogether.

"So how are you doing?" I asked her knowing she had been going through a difficult time lately.

"I'm ok; I mean I still sometimes think about him even though I know all too well that I shouldn't be"

"Do you still love him?" I asked but she didn't respond instead she took another look sip of her drink. "If you do then maybe you should try to listen to his explanation"

"Are you siding with him?" She said sounding offended by the suggestion.

"No I'm not but I mean did you even listen to his explanation?"

"No" she said not looking at me.

"Did you even hear it from him or are you just going by the rumours everyone’s talking about? You know how they are at school" I said

"Let's just not talk about this Ok?" she said as she looked at her hands. I just sighed and took another sip, watching her as her eyes started to glint with tears. "Look I'm sorry for bringing it up and sounding like I was defending what he did but I'm not, I’ll always be on your side, You're like basically my sister; Hell I’ll even side you  more than my own brother" I told her with all my heart.

"I am just that great huh?" She jokes and a genuine smile started forming on her face.

"I'm gonna really miss you when you're gone, do you really need to go all the way to London?" I asked her; she was going to take degree in medicine up in the busy city of London, just like her mother, however she always tells me that she would much rather write books but medicine was a good safety net for her to fall on if writing didn’t turn out right.

“You can always come and visit you know” she said

“I will, but you better be there when I knock on the door”

“Of course I‘d probably have no life with all my studying and the pricey rent.” She joked causing us both to laugh.

“So when are you leaving anyway?”

“In two weeks; just before summer vacation ends”

“I’ll ask Mum if I can help drop you off but she’ll probably let me anyway, she treats you like her own” I told her thinking about mum again

“I really hope she gets better  Jin” she said sensing what I was thinking as she leaned across the table patting her hand on top of mine.

***

I placed my hand on the barre, sweat dripping down my forehead, watching myself practise in the mirror. I thought about mother again and the worry wouldn’t go, it had been occupying my mind for a while now and wouldn’t go away.

“Jinri! Focus on what you’re doing please” Madam Chambers instructed me from the front breaking my chain of thoughts. I suddenly got back to what I was meant to have been doing, following everyone else as Madam Chambers continued counting us on

“1..2..3..1..2..3...” The numbers kept repeating in my mind which was what I needed to block out the worry. Focus Jinri Focus!

***

"Jinri, can I have a quick word with you please" Madam Chambers asked

"Sure" I told her "I'll see you then, Bye" I said to Sofia a girl in my ballet group I had been previously talking to. Finishing packing up, I shoved my ballet shoes in to the bottom of my bag closing the locker door and making sure I locked it well before covering myself with the warmth of the oversized jacket. I walked towards the office door where Mrs Chambers had been waiting for me. Of course, as usual my mind starting running with thoughts; negative thoughts. This must be bad... Mrs Chambers only ever calls a student to have a word if she thought we weren't up to the standards she expects. I knocked on the door braving myself for what was to come.

"Come in" Mrs Chambers shouted from inside the room. I entered sheepishly under her instruction and saw her waiting behind her desk, hands clasp together. Breath Jinri, you’re not in trouble...You're not in trouble

 "Please sit" She told me gesturing towards the cold looking chair that sat in front of her desk. I sat down on the pretty uncomfortable chair and stayed quite waiting for her to continue. I stared at her as she observed me with squinted eyes, making me gulp in despair. She had faded brown hair tied up in a tight bun, pushing the rest of her face up along with it. Madam Chambers had always worn her hair up never in my long years here have I seen her with anything else. However you could see the long years she had spent here. Her face was no longer a smooth art piece but now had a few ripples making their mark. I remember meeting Madam Chambers for the first time; she came to have a talk at my old dance school and I remember thinking that I wanted to be just like her. She was in her mid Forties then but was still an elegant lady to me.

"So Jinri, these past few days I've noticed that your mind seems a bit more pre-occupied than usual, Not really focusing on the dance, so I was wondering if there is anything you want to talk about or tell?"

"No, I'm fine...it's just me worrying about mother again" I told her.

"I understand Jinri and I know you can do better so I'm giving you a chance, seeing as though you were one of the very few to get into Eastwood however you must focus more because we don't want your standards dropping especially if you're to enter a much more fierce and competitive world." I nodded that the words she said but had still kept my mouth closed.

"You must understand that there are many many many ballet students that also dream for the centre spot and you must work hard for it, harder than you ever worked, Understand?"

"Yes, I understand, I'll certainly work hard for it Mrs Chambers"

"Ok, I believe you Jinri because I know how well you dance." She said smiling at me giving me a bit of a relief. "You may go and  Jinri good luck there ,We'll certainly miss you here when you go."

"Thank you" I said standing up leaving to go home. As I left the building it had already past 10 at night and the sky had already been painted a dark shade of blue with the odd streetlight shining the way. A broad figure was standing by their car talking on the phone but I couldn't quite make out who it was instead I held tightly unto the strap of my bag and fastened my steps towards the bus shelter passing the person who was now shouting at whoever they were talking to.

"Hey Jin, You wanna ride?" A voice suddenly asked me as I was just about to turn the corner. I turned around and there stood Jongin in his grey tracksuit and matching hoodie.

"No, I'm Fine" I said

"Come on, It’s already late I might as well take you home" He had Insisted

"No really I'm fine"

"Jin  just get in 'cause I'm not leaving until you get in" He said to me leaving me in shock, Who does he think he is?

"Fine you can stay there all night for all I care but I'm leaving" I told him turn back around, walking away from him towards the bus shelter. Really though, were not even that close and he thinks he can order me around like, especially after what he supposedly did to Krystal. I got to the bus stop and saw Grace waiting for the bus looking down at her phone; it wasn't until I had sat down next to her when she noticed my presence.

"Oh hey" She said looking up at her phone.

"Hey" We weren't close; we would only greet each other with the occasional hey here and there which wasn't very often. I knew however that Grace Plays the piano and Heck is she good at it. I saw her play once and a small show the academy set up a few years back I did a performance along with some other members and even they were amazed by her talent.

"So I heard you're going abroad to study" I said trying to get a conversation going.

"Yeah, going back to Sweden with my family, Grandpa isn't very well and Mother wants to go back and help him there" She told me with almost sadden eyes

"I hope he gets better" I said not really knowing what to say.

"Yeah, I’ll miss this place though"

“Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll make some new friends there anyway” I Said trying to comfort her but by the time I said his she was already looking back down at her phone and it was silence once again; we both stayed silent only hearing the cars passing by. I looked down at my own phone watching the time run impressively slowly, I don't know if it was just me but I was drowning in a sea of awkwardness. Damn this bus is taking long! Another long minute passed and I was now suffocating. Both of us trying to act comfortable around one another let the more we tried the less comfortable it became. Someone please save me! I tried thinking up another conversation but wondered if it had already been too long of a silence to start talking again. However in between my thought a sharp noise echoed in the air making both Grace and I snap our heads in the direction of the sound.

"Jin Get In!" Jongin shouted from his car that he had stopped in the middle of the road causing other drivers honking his way. "You might as well cause’ I'm not moving and you wouldn't want these people getting angry do you?" he said beckoning the cars behind him. I can't believe this guy. I stood up and bid farewell to Grace, Even as much as I hated this guy right now I was grateful to get out of that uncomfortable situation. I ran towards the car as drivers continued to honk the horns.

"I can't believe you" I said as I got in, fastening my seatbelt.

"Well you should know by now that I like to get my way" Stating the obvious, The Blasting music covering filling the car, making it slightly bounce with the vibration. We didn’t talk only listening to the music in the background.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked him looking out the window.

"Oh we had a band practise, and the others left me to clean up" he said, I nodded in acknowledgment “So how's Krystal?"He asked quite cautiously, giving me a quick glance.

"She's fine" I said still not looking at him

"I heard she moving to London soon"

"So? Why would you care?" I snapped at him receiving a slow sigh from him.

"Look the rumours aren’t true ok it’s just a whole load of misunderstanding" He said under breath.

"Well, you should be explaining yourself to Krystal and not me"

"Well, don’t you think I've tried? I've tried so hard but she doesn't listen!"He said more harshly this time, losing his temper surprising me a bit. We stayed in silence after that, contemplating on what had just happened. We finally stopped in from of my house Jongin stopped the Music and I unfastened my seatbelt, opening the car door before he spoke out again. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier, I'm just in a bit of a state right now" He apologised looking quite sincere, I nodding before saying goodbye and walking to the house. I heard the engine of his car speeding off into the distance; looking back at the road he was gone.

Authors Note: 

Heys guys this is chapter 2 !! Again I hope you enjoy it and please please comment any improvement I can work on. I would really appreciate all kinds of suggestions! Also I will try to upload at least once a week which would most likely be a monday so stay tuned.

Jcookiecake xxx