I keep glancing at him.

He is sitting in front of me, attentively listening to how the teacher goes on and on about things that he apparently finds interesting enough to learn.

I, on the other hand, have much more important things to do than that.

Like watching the way his hair curls itself softly, and teases the base of his neck with its ringlets every time he moves his head.

Or the way he shifts a little every once in a while, the coldness of the winter air outside making the badly isolated school building chilly enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

Or the way the black fabric of the school uniform vest he wears follows his bodyline, complementing his body greatly as it show off his small frame and slender waist.

Yeah, that's infinitely more important than anything the teacher could possible talk about.

According to me.

It's all about priority, you know? And I definitely know what I prioritize when it comes to choosing between studies of the anatomy of Lee Taemin, and economy, which is what we're supposed to be learning for the moment.

I try, but fail, to hold down a yawn. I didn't get much sleep last night since me and Taemin kept on sending each other text messages far past two o’clock in the morning.

Taemin is the only one who hears the sounds I make due to being sleep deprived. He turns his head a little and looks at me over his shoulder, his reddish golden locks falling into his eyes.

The fond smile he gives me is one so filled with affection that it’s endearing, his lips curling upwards in the most delicate and delicious way, his eyes turning to crescents over his slightly blushing cheeks.

God he's beautiful.

I wink at him, at which his eyelashes throw shadows over his skin as he looks down to hide his embarrassment. He smiles even wider though, telling me how much he really likes it when I do that.

I just want to kiss him. Like, right now.

It's as if he reads my mind, he looks up again to meet my eyes and mouths "soon" to me, subtly tilting his head towards the exit of the classroom.

I nod to show that I've understood. There are only a few minutes left of the school day - ten at most - and then it's all me and him, and we can talk and laugh and have fun and spend time together and everything that I enjoy doing with him.

I don't even realise how fast the time passes. I'm all concentrated on observing the way he keeps on crossing and un-crossing his legs under the table (what is he thinking about?), when the bell suddenly rings. I stand up and start assemble my things that are scattered all over the desk, not rushing since Taemin almost always end up leaving the classroom as one of the last. Even the teacher leaves the room before him some times.

But then I hear a loud thud and an angry voice, clearly belonging to someone who's not having one of his best days.

"Yah! Watch where you're going!"

I glance up, and see Taemin sitting on the floor, his books crammed against his chest as if he instinctively held them tight instead of catching his fall.

In front of him with his back to me is they guy that I know has his locker above Taemin's. As far as I know, that guy has never said a word to Taemin except for "move", "you're in the way" and "stop doing that".

Though he hasn't exactly been saying anything mean, I know that his comments make Taemin lose confidence in himself. And in my opinion, that's much worse than plain bullying, because if that was the case then I could at least report him.

But what he's doing now, showing off his power as a senior who's supposedly being bothered by an annoying kid - that is nothing peculiar in the eyes of the teachers. They've said so themselves when I tried talking about it. They just kept telling me how older ones know better, and how Taemin should be more disciplined and learn his place.

As if it is his fault that he's being picked on.

As if it his fault that he is the youngest kid in the entire year.

As if it was his fault that he was deemed intelligent enough to skip a grade when he was little.

"YAH! Are you going to apologizee or not?"

I can't believe the nerve of this guy. Taemin is on the floor right next to his chair, showing that he wasn't the one who didn't watch his step since he didn't even walk anywhere.

I'm about to say so, to tell the guy to mind his own business and not mess with people younger than him just because he can, but Taemin opens his mouth before me.

He's looking at the feet of the taller and older boy, his eyes downcast and - if I'm not mistaken –there’s a teardrop stuck in his eyelashes. I get an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"I-I-I'm s-s-so-sorry, s-s-su-unbae-ni-ni-nim."

He looks scared. Scared like a little child who's just been told he isn't worth a thing.

It breaks my heart that his happiness is such a frail thing.

The guy just smacks his tongue, making it clear that he is annoyed, and swiftly leaves the classroom with big strides.

For a moment I'm just standing there, my mind completely blank. How could anyone...?

Taemin eases himself up from the floor, wincing a little, and that brings me back to reality. I rush to his side to help him, but he doesn't take my hand. He just offers me a forced smile that doesn't look happy at all, and then looks down at his things, efficiently avoiding my eyes.

I help him dust off his school uniform and picks up his ridiculously big pencil case. For some reason he doesn’t like it when I try to carry his books for him, so I let him keep them in the firm grip he’s got and push in the chair after him. He walks out of the classroom and I follow him, the lock on the door making a clicking sound as I close it behind us. The corridor is filled with noise and people shuffling around, talking loudly about parties and missing buses and homework and whatnot.

“Taeminnie?”

“…hrm?”

There’s a distracted tone to his voice and I can tell that his thoughts are elsewhere. He’s probably thinking about that jerks in our class again. But I think I know just what to say to make him distracted with me instead.

“What would you say, if I told you that I’ve got two tickets for that new movie that you told me about a few days ago?”

He takes a few more steps, and then looks at me over his right shoulder with hesitant eyes.

“The- the- the movie- the commercial we saw this weekend when I was over at your house, hyung?”

“Yup.”

“I-I would say that you’re lucky getting tickets, th-they are quite hard to g-get your hands on, you know? Anyways, I-I-I- think it-”

He trails off for just a second, but it’s enough for me to start wondering. Why isn’t he happier? I thought he really wanted to see this movie, but apparently…

“- I think y-you’ll have fun. It s-sounds like a great film… Wh-who are you going to go with?”

I don’t hesitate to capture him in a hug from behind, circling his thin frame with my arms. He’s so clueless that it’s almost endearing, and if not for the people surrounding us and Taemin’s own dislike for public displays of affection, I would have kissed him right there and then. I nuzzle the locks of golden hair next to his ear and laugh a little under my breath, feeling him trying not to squirm as I do so.

“It’s you of course, Tae.” I whisper, trying not to let the hint of amusement in my voice shine through too much. “You are the one I want to go to the movie with. It was you who told me about this film after all, and I only bought the tickets so that we could go together.”

 He lets out a breath that I didn’t even know he was holding, and let out a giggle. I feel my insides warm up at that. 

“Really, hyung?”

The corridor is now almost empty of people, everyone having stormed off to catch their buses.

I breathe in and let his scent fill my lungs. He smells like honey and lemons, innocent in some way really. The tone of his voice is filled with new-found hope, and I don’t even think there’s anyone in the entire world that hasever loved someone as much as I love the perfect, sweet, little boy that I’m holding in my arms in that very moment.
So I place a small, feathery kiss on the silky skin of his neck, barely letting my lips touch him. He’s adorable beyond what words can express.

“Yeah, really.”