To say that Ten, Seulgi, and Johnny were curious about what happened the night before would be an understatement. Despite the early hour, Johnny and Ten rolled up to their dorm room at seven the next morning, banging on the door waking both Na Ri and Seulgi. Na Ri had never been an early riser in all her years of being a student. She was consistently late in middle school, and in high school the teachers always knew to leave a space for her in detention for all her accumulated tardies. The only reason she wasn't late in elementary school was her mother waking her up and pushing her out the door on time every day. This was one of the reasons NA Ri never scheduled a class before 11am. So as Seulgi opened the door to let them in, Na Ri was less than pleased. Although many would argue that is Na Ri's normal state of being. 

Ten immediately jumped on top of Na Ri who was still in bed, destroying any chance she had of being able to go back to sleep. "Alright Na Ri, it's time to talk." Ten said pulling the covers back from over her head revealing her grumpy face to the rest of the room. 

Na Ri groaned and smacked him with one of her pillows. "It's too early for this, go away!" 

"You've literally woken me up at 3 in the morning before because you were pissed off  by how one of your favorite TV shows ended, you don't get to play that card with us." Seulgi replied cross her legs as she sat near the edge of her own bed. For having woken up only a few moments before she was already too alert for Na Ri's liking. Seulgi claimed it was one of her personal talents, Na Ri claimed it was because she was a psycho. 

Na Ri glared at the three of them, her bed hair sticking up in all directions. "It's really nothing, you guys are making a big deal out of nothing." 

Johnny raised his eyebrows at her, "Aren't you the same person who said that you'd rather kiss Doyoung again than spend any length of time alone with Taeyong?" He asked leaning back in the desk chair he had sat in.   

That got Na Ri out of bed, "Don't you dare say that name in this room!" She yelled jumping towards Johnny only to be stopped by Ten who had a wrestlers grip around her stomach.

"Johnny run!!" Ten yelled as Na Ri pulled at his grasp. "The only person she hates more than Taeyong is Doyoung! You've started the apocolpys-OW STOP HITTING ME!!" Ten cried as Na Ri armed herself with a nearby pillow from her bed and began beating him with it. 

Johnny just crossed his arms and sighed. "Why do I hang out with you all?" He questioned. 

"Cause we're more fun than those classmates of yours" Seulgi shrugged at him ignoring Ten and Na Ri, the former receiving some sort of lecture from the latter full of stern looks and hits with a pillow. "Besides, I would argue Na Ri is really the only crazy one here."

"-Na Ri you're just mad that Doyoung started that rumor about you when you wouldn't sleep with him!" Ten argued through the beatings as Seulgi and Johnny watched on. 

"Is there a reason I shouldn't be mad about that?!?" Na Ri exclaimed incredulous, stopping for a moment which gave Ten a chance to escape from her clutches. "He wasn't even a good kisser in the first place," She yelled after him as he scrambled across the room away from his friend, "-not to mention his actually personality was like a wet piece of paper left outside of a waffle house at one in the morning!!" 

"As Ten's roommate, I can honestly say Na Ri is not the only crazy one here" Johnny grimaced back at Seulgi. "And what's wrong with my classmates?" 

Seulgi gave him a withering look. "I've met a lot of them, they're pretentious and have sticks up their-" 

"I PROMISE TO NEVER MENTION DOYOUNG AGAIN IF YOU WILL TELL US ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH TAEYONG!" Ten yelled from where he had jumped onto Saulgi's bed behind her, interrupting Seulgi and Johnny. 

"DEAL!" Na Ri cried back, dropping the pillow she had been using as a weapon and extending her hand to Ten to shake on it, which he promptly took.

"Finally." Seulgi muttered under her breath as Na Ri finally sat down on the edge of her bed to face them. 

" Alright guys, last night I visited Taeyong's dance practice for their upcoming competition. After the practice was over he had to lock up the building and since we were both going to the same place we ended up walking back together. It's really as simple as that." Na Ri explained feeling tired again after using up small burst of energy that came after she got angry. 

"Ok but, he didn't have to walk you to the door of the dorm. You could have parted ways once you got on campus. He walked you back to your dorm like a concerned boyfriend." Seulgi pointed out. 

"It's not like I asked him too!" Na Ri replied throwing her hands in the air. "He's just trying to get in my good graces because of this stupid bet, but it won't work." 

"What bet?" Johnny asked. 

Na Ri felt time slow done as she repeated what she had just said over in her head, before realizing her mistake. "Well "    

Na Ri barely escaped her three friends after accidentally spilling the beans that morning. Her only saving grace from their unending torment and jokes was the fact that she had to get to a class at eleven fifteen. So after finally kicking out Ten and Johnny, Seulgi had left a few hours before due to her own class she had to get to, Na Ri was able to get a shower and get dressed for class. She was halfway to class when she spotted someone very out of place on the college campus. Mark was awkwardly standing around near one of the class buildings, wearing his high school uniform with a back pack slung over his shoulder. After a moments consideration Na Ri changed her course and went over to say hello. As she got closer she could see that he looked upset and had a busted lip a bruise forming around the corner of his brow. 

"Shouldn't you be in school?" She asked getting his attention as she got closer. 

He looked up quickly with the expression of a deer caught in the headlights before visibly relaxing once he saw that it was Na Ri. "Oh, um...well. I actually came to talk to Taeyong about something." He said shuffling his feet and looking down. 

Na Ri nodded thoughtfully, "Are you waiting for him to meet you here?" She asked looking around to see if she could see him coming. 

"Actually uh...I don't know where he is right now. I don't have my phone and I can't remember what dorm he said he lived in." He replied, his answer turning into a mumble towards the end. 

"So you were gonna just wait here till you saw him huh..." Na Ri stated to which Mark just nodded his head, turning slightly red. "Tell you what. To save you from waiting here all day why don't I text him for you and wait with you so the campus cops don't try to arrest you for skipping school?" 

"They can do that?" Mark asked looking up in disbelief.

Na Ri shrugged as she pulled out her phone, "My mom always said that they would, but she was probably trying to scare me out of skipping....but campus security really will come talk to you if they see you here alone."

"Oh.." was all Mark said in reply before fidgeting with the strap of his back pack. "Did it work? ...Your mom saying that I mean." 

Na Ri grinned at him as she texted. "Not really. It just made me more cautious when I did skip. I only got caught a handful of times compared to some of my friends." Taeyong almost immediately texted Na Ri back when he saw her message. "Oh that was fast," she muttered out loud when she saw the notification. "He said to meet him at the clock tower, that's over this way. Let's go" Mark fell into step silently as she led the way across campus, he seemed much more reserved than when Na Ri had met him last night. "So did you win?" she asked looking over at the boy. 

"What?" He questioned looking up from the ground, which he had been staring at most of the time he had been there. 

"The fight you were in, did you win?" Na Ri asked.

"Oh well...not really. It got broken up by the teachers" Mark answered looking away.

The rest of the walk was made in silence. When they reached the clock tower Na Ri could see that Taeyong was already there waiting on them. He was running his hands through his hair making it stand up in funny directions while not being able to stand still. When he saw them approaching he hurried over. "Mark whats wro--what happened to your face!" He exclaimed when he got closer. 

Mark shook his hair down into his face and looked down, "uh well....um. I got...suspended..." He muttered to the ground. "It wasn't my fault though, the teachers aren't being fair." 

Taeyong ran his hand through his hair again looking distressed. "What happened" Na Ri thought she saw him age five years in the blink of an eye.

Mark scuffed the tip of his shoe against the ground. "It was Seungmin again...he was making fun of Chenle. Making fun of his accent and his laugh. If I hadn't stepped in then Donghyuck would have and you know he can't take a punch."

"Are you seriously trying to talk me into believing that you getting into a fight and getting suspended was actualyl a good thing right now?" Taeyong asked in disbelief.

 "...uh...maybe not a good thing, but the best possible outcome?" Mark replied, but it sounded more like a question. 

"How long is your suspension?" Taeyong asked. 

"A week." Mark answered sheepishly, looking away.

Taeyong groaned and rubbed his face in frustration. Taking out his phone he checked the time. "I don't have class until later, for now we can continue this converation in my dorm room," He said. "Let me talk to Na Ri for a minute." He said shooing the boy away to go sit on a bench a few feet away before turning back to Na Ri. "Sorry about all this..." He said rubbing the back of his neck. 

Na Ri shrugged, "It's fine, he seems like a good kid." 

"He really is. I honestly can't thank you enough." Taeyong said ernestly, surprising Na Ri. 

"You really don't have to thank me. I was helping him out, not you." Na Ri said immediately getting defensive. She wasn't going to let him get under her skin by being so nice. She cleared , feeling awkward. "Anyway, I'm late to class now....so...bye, I guess." Na Ri waved to Mark before heading away from the clock tower and back towards the direction she had been heading in the first place. She would be late, but that was pretty on brand for her. What she did find surprising was that she couldn't bring herself to be too angry at Taeyong as she walked away. She decided it was because she felt bad for Mark.  

Na Ri tried to pay attention in class once she arrived, she really did. But every few seconds she could feel her phone buzz through her pocket and had a terrible feeling it was her friends antagonizing her about the bet. She couldn't believe she had already spilled the beans so quickly, even after vowing to herself to keep it a tightly guarded secret. She decided that it must be because she had been spending an inordinate amount of time with Taeyong recently. Yes, this was all Taeyong's fault she decided nodding to herself. Once class was over she stopped at the canteen to grab some lunch to go before heading to the radio station where she knew she would find Seulgi. 

Jae was at the front desk again with headphones on as he typed away at his comupter. Na Ri waved to get his attention, mouthing a quick hello before she headed inside. JYP sat behind the soundboard wearing sunglasses even though he was inside and nodding his head to the beat of the song that was playing, when he spotted Na Ri he smiled wide at her. "Na Ri what vibes do you bring in today for the universe?"

'Uh, hey JYP, I'm doing good. How are your...vibes today?" She asked throwing herself on the couch in the back of the room and placing her feet on the coffee table. 

"The universe and I are at peace today." JYP nodded at her. "How fairs your balance?"

"Balance?" Na Ri asked throwing JYP a confused look. He seemed to be in a particularly weird mood today. 

"Life is in the process of balancing out your hate for that skinny boy. Is it going well?" JYP explained looking at her expectantly. 

"Oh lord. JYP I was put on this earth to suffer. The universe specifically sent Taeyong to me as punishment, for something. Maybe something I did in a previous life or maybe the universe has a sense of humor, I don't know." Na Ri sighed letting her head fall back against the back of the couch. 

JYP sighed and turned back to the soundboard. "The balance is still not good I see." He muttered to himself. Na Ri didn't reply, instead deciding to dig in to the lunch she had brought with her and ignore JYP's weird ramblings. She could only handle so much talk of the 'universe' or whatever for so long. Seulgi waved at her through the glass as she waited for the song to end so she could continue her show. She still had an hour left for the day so Na Ri decided to read through the texts she had received during class. She was surprised to see there were a few from Taeyong. Reading his screen name, Na Ri decided she needed to change it and fast cause she could not allow any of her friends to see that.  

TYTrack: Hey Na Ri just wanted to say thanks again

TYTrack: I owe you one 

Tenoutof10: So is anyone else confused and convinced Na Ri has been replaced by an alien

Tenoutof10: That awkward moment when you become the alien you blog about lmao

JohnnyBoi: I mean I think the odds are pretty high in her favor all things considered

JohnnyBoi: Taeyong has his work cut out for him if he thinks he can win

Tenoutof10: Ok but have you seen Taeyong??

Tenoutof10: boy is a skinny legend

Tenoutof10: I think every girl on campus wants to hit that

Tenoutof10: except Seulgi

Tenoutof10: who wants to ride the Yuta train

DJPringle: T E N!!!!! WHAT THE H

DJPringle: I'm on the air right now, you can not do this to me

DJPringle: this is slander 

Tenoutof10: BUT ITS TRUE

JohnnyBoi: Anyway...

JohnnyBoi: you guys want to place bets on who's going to win?

Tenoutof10: Taeyong

DJPringle: my moneys on Taeyong

JohnnyBoi: I say Na Ri is going to win the bet

Tenoutof10: May the odds be ever in our favor

NaReally: I hate all of you

Na Ri cast a glare at Seulgi through the glass and flipped her the bird, to which Seulgi just smiled back at her and shrugged. Na Ri spent the rest of her time updating her multiple blogs and scrolling through instagram. 15 minutes before Seulgi was scheduled to be done, the next DJ showed up. Na Ri didn't know him particularly well, but was pretty sure his name was Sungjin and that he mostly focused on talking about music and music theory during his show. He gave a slight nod to Na Ri who returned it before going back to her phone. 

Finally Seulgi left the booth, giving Sungjin a high five as she passed him by. "Hey girl." She said plopping down next to her friend and throwing her legs over Na Ri's

"Hey traitor." Na Ri answered giving Seulgi a look.

"Oh come on let it go." Seulgi said rolling her eyes and giving her shoulder a weak push. "We're just having a bit of fun."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Na Ri pouted leaning her head on Seulgi's shoulder. They were quite for a few moments, listening to the beginning of Sungjin's show and the sound of the ceiling fan.   

"Oh I forgot to ask you!" Seulgi said suddenly knock Na Ri's head off her shoulder. "How was Yuta at their practice? Is he a good dancer?" 

Na Ri grinned at her an idea forming in her head. "Hmm I don't know. I think that's pretty valuable information you're asking me for there."

Seulgi groaned. "Come on Na Ri! Tell me! I bet he's really good."

"Well I could tell you....or you could take me shopping at my favorite store and I'll let you come with me the next time I go to their practice." Na Ri said mischeviously. 

Seulgi's face lit up. "Really! You'd let me come!!" 

"Of course, it's not like Taeyong can stop me and I'm sure Yuta will be thrilled to see you there." Na Ri replied smiling at her best friend. 

Seulgi squealed and gave her a big hug. "You are the best!" 

TYTrack: Only a couple more practices before the competition. Is the article going to be published before or after?

NaReally: I don't know what you did that made everyone love you so much, but my one article on this got turned into two at the last meeting...

NaReally: The first will be published before and the 2nd will be after on the results

TYTrack: Really???? 

TYTrack: I'll tell the guys, they'll be so excited to hear that.

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NaReally: Congratulations guys you all have to go with me to the dance competition now

Tenoutof10: what if I'm busy

NaReally: when are you ever busy??

Tenoutof10: excuse you I happen to have a life too

DJPringle: Sounds fake but ok

DJPringle: Count me in Na Ri

JohnnyBoi: do I have a say in the matter or...

Tenoutof10: If I have to go you have to go

NaReally: You don't get a say

JohnnyBoi: *sighs dramatically*

Another chapter???? Wow. I'm really enjoying writing this story and I have so many idea! Thank you for subscribing and reading! I don't have much to say right now other than I'm extremely grateful, and also shocked that there's not more NCTxOC stories out there. 

Much Love,

Ashton