It was the middle of the 5th week of school and you could almost feel the tension and stress throughout the entire building since it was the middle of exam week, also known as hell week. Everyone either had their face stuck in books or they were rushing to the vending machines to get some caffeine in their systems. These were the first exams of the year which meant that they could shape your grade in the class for the rest of the semester and Jeonghan himself was stressing out since he knew he in English and Physics, and not to mention his vocal teacher has been getting on his case recently because he couldn't reach a certain note in a song. The junior had spent the entire weekend studying at home, thanks to it storming all weekend, and though he felt familiar with the material for his classes, it did nothing to ease the stress. That was why he was currently walking through the halls of K-star with his face buried in his literature textbook on his way to his homeroom class. He was so consumed in his studying that he wasn't looking where he was going and he found himself bumping into something..or rather someone.

"Woah, you should be careful there Han. Wouldn't want you getting hurt." The voice said.

"Oh, Sehun! I'm sorry for bumping into you! I'm such a clutz sometimes." Jeonghan said, completely embarrassed about running into the other like that, especially since he was wearing his reading glasses that day. He probably thinks I look like a nerd.

"No it's fine. What are you reading?" The senior asked.

"Oh, I'm just reading a passage from my literature textbook. I have a feeling it's gonna be on the exam." Jeonghan replied, closing his book quickly and taking off his glasses.

"Ah...I guess you're pretty worried about exam week."

"Aren't you?" Jeonghan asked with wide eyes. What student wasn't worried about exam week? It was called hell week for a reason.

"Nah. I don't really need to worry about my grades. I always end up with perfect scores so there's nothing I need to stress over." Sehun said confidently. "Plus, I have some of the NCT boys working on my assignments so it's not like I have any extra work to do besides going over a few of my notes."

"What? You have other people doing your work? Can't you get into trouble for that?"

"Not really. It's not like I'm copying anyone's work and as long as the principal doesn't find out then I'm good. And those kids knew what they were signing up for when they asked to be in our group. I'm just taking advantage of my resources. Consider it a perk of being part of EXO....that's actually why I came looking for you. You are still interested in joining us, right?"

"Yes! Of course! Why would I even change my mind?" Jeonghan said, a little flustered at the thought of Oh Sehun taking the time to find him in school. 

"That's good to hear. I was getting a little worried when you never reached back to me about your progress with Seungcheol. How are things working out between the two of you?"

"Things are going good actually! We can finally speak to each other without being at each other's throats." Jeonghan said, thinking back to the few times he hung out with the other junior and recalling how he actually had a good time.

"But have you learned anything new about him?" Sehun asked, not sounding impressed or even happy of Jeonghan's progress.

"Umm, not really. I found out that he's kinda studious and really reserved." Jeonghan tried.

"I'm not really interested in any of that. Come on Han...there's gotta be something better you can tell me."

"Well...I found out he has a job after school."

"A job? Now that's interesting. Do you happen to know where?"

"No, sorry....but just give me some more time! I'll find out more things about him and then I'll let you know!" Jeonghan said quickly, not liking that Sehun seemed to be disappointed in him...and Jeonghan could swear that the other looked slightly annoyed by him. But that couldn't be it. Sehun said himself that he really wants Jeonghan to join EXO so there's no way the senior could be annoyed with him...right?

"Fine. But the next time we talk, I want to know something worth knowing. Something like where he lives or what he does with his spare time." Sehun said.

"Why is this so important to you?" Jeonghan asked, confused at why Sehun wants to know things that are kinda personal about Seungcheol. Sure Jeonghan wanted to know these things himself but he had good reasons for that...but why was Sehun so dead-set on knowing these things about the other.

"Look Han," Sehun said, stepping closer to the boy and cupping Jeonghan's cheeks in his hands. "Don't get angry with me. I've told you before, Seungcheol interests me and I want to know more about the guy. Everyone in EXO and SNSD know pretty much everything about everyone at K-Star but Choi Seungcheol is the one person that's still a mystery to us. I just want to know what kind of guy he is."

Jeonghan's cheeks were burning under Sehun's touch and he was sure his entire face was red. And after listening to Sehun's explanation, Jeonghan immediately felt guilty for doubting the other. Maybe Sehun also had his doubts about those rumors. That had to be it.

"Sehun?"

"Yes Han?" Sehun said with his voice soft and deep, making Jeonghan almost forget where he was and what he was going to say.

"Do you believe those stories about Seungcheol? The ones about him being in gangs and getting into fights all the time?"

At this, Sehun pulled away from Jeonghan, looking like he was thinking over his answer. "Well, those stories have been going around for years so it's hard not to. I remember trying out for the wrestling team my sophomore year and I was up against the guy. I still haven't forgotten how he threw me onto the ground. He was really rough and a little aggressive so it's not hard to believe that he gets into fights and trouble a lot. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He didn't know why but Jeonghan was sad with the senior's answer.  "Anyway, I really need to get to my homeroom class. I'll see you around Sehun!"

"Sure thing Han. And remember, I want some real information the next time we talk. Don't let me down!" The senior said before patting Jeonghan's shoulder and walking past him.

When Jeonghan made it to his homeroom, he was going to go up to Seungcheol to say hi but the other was fast asleep at his table and the older boy looked so peaceful while he slept that Jeonghan didn't have th heart to disturb him. So instead he took his regular seat by his friends and waited for Mr. Kim to walk in to start their review session for their history exam the next day. 

After class, Jeonghan rushed to his next class, English, for his exam and he didn't even notice a very awake Seungcheol try to get his attention to say hello.

Jeonghan's next class was his vocal class. He was in the classroom sitting next to Joshua, Woozi, Seungkwan and Dokyeom going through vocal exercises when Dokyeom suddenly asked Jeonghan a question.

"So, Jeonghan...I heard that you've gotten close to Choi Seungcheol." The sophomore asked.

"Oh my god! Really? Isn't that dangerous though? Hyung! I heard that he sells drugs and he gets into fights! Plus he's really scary! Jeonghan! What are you thinking, hanging around him?!" Seungkwan freaked out.

Jeonghan's only response was to glare at Woozi who was stifling a laugh. "Really, Woozi. You told them?"

"It was funny to watch their reactions. You should've seen when I first told Dokyeom. I thought the guy was gonna have a heart attack." Woozi said.

Jeonghan just sighed. "Yes, Seungkwan. I've been talking to Seungcheol recently. I was actually planning on introducing him to you guys during lunch or something."

"But why? You've heard all of those things about him. He's not a nice person!"

"Chill out. He's not that bad and even Shua and Woozi kinda like him." Jeonghan explained and Seungkwan looked at both Joshua and Woozi in shock.

"It's true. Seungcheol's kinda nice. I wouldn't mind being his friend." Joshua said, much to Seungkwan and Dokyeom's surprise.

"Yeah, me neither. Plus, the guy has some really good rhythm when he raps. I seriously need to get back to him about recording something." Woozi added.

"What? You're even thinking about collaborating with him? Woozi, you won't even let me record something with you!" Seungkwan complained.

"That's because you're sensitive and you'd cry if I yelled at you during a recording."

"He's not wrong." Dokyeom said which earned him a punch from the other sophomore.

"Whatever. I'm telling Yuju and Hoshi that you guys are jerks." Seungkwan said in retaliation. "Anyway, Jeonghan...what made K-Star's angel speak to Seungcheol in the first place?"

"I...I don't know. Something was just telling me to get to know the guy. Why does everyone always ask me why I chose to speak to him? It's not like I have some ulterior motive or anything." Jeonghan said rather defensively.

"No one was getting on your case Jeonghan. It's just strange that you of all people would be the one to approach and befriend the Choi Seungcheol." Joshua said.

"Yeah well, people can change their minds and-"

"Jeonghan! How about instead of chitchatting in my class, you work on those notes for your singing test this Friday." Their vocal teacher yelled.

"Yes Ms. Kwon." Jeonghan replied and when their teacher turned around again, Jeonghan looked to his friends with a look of panic on his face. "You guys need to help me for the test this Friday."

"Don't worry man, me and Seungkwan can help you after class during lunch or something." Dokyeom told the junior.

"Yeah but maybe not today. Vernon said he had something to show me during lunch today." Seungkwan said.

"You mean you're ditching me for your boyfriend?" Jeonghan said with a fake gasp. "I thought I was your favorite hyung?"

"You are but I think I like my boyfriend a little more....but just by a little bit." Seungkwan quickly added that last part after Jeonghan pretended to look pissed.

"Dokyeom, you're my new favorite dongsaeng." Jeonghan said before he was shushed again by his vocal teacher.

The rest of Jeonghan's Wednesday went on pretty slowly. Every class was just a review for the upcoming exams so nothing exciting really happened.

The next day, Jeonghan was walking to lunch with Joshua, Woozi, Dokyeom and Seungkwan beside him when he saw Seungcheol walking through the hall. It was strange to see Seungcheol around during lunch, but what was even more strange was the other didn't seem to be heading towards the courtyard at all. In fact, he was heading in the opposite direction.

Curiosity got the better of Jeonghan and he had to cut Woozi off from his conversation to excuse himself.

"Jeonghan, I thought we were going to practice for the test tomorrow!" Dokyeom called out.

"I'll just wing it! There's something I need to take care of." Jeonghan said before he left his friends to follow Seungcheol.

Jeonghan stayed a good distance behind the other junior and he made sure not to make a sound as he followed. After walking through the halls and even up the stairway, Seungcheol stopped at a locker, which Jeonghan assumed was his, and opened it to grab a brown paper bag before closing the locker again and continuing to walk to his destination. Seungcheol eventually stopped walking, though, when he came to a door which he opened and went through.

Jeonghan quickly followed the boy, but he was slightly confused when he saw the label of said door and it read 'Rooftop - Do Not Enter.'

Why would Seungcheol be going to the roof? Did he always do this? Is that why he would never be seen during lunch around the courtyard? Choosing not to waste any more time, Jeonghan decided to get the answers from the guy himself and opened the door to walk up the few steps until he was on the roof. Jeonghan had only been up there a few times, the last time being when Dino got lost and he had to go get him, so it was a little weird to be up there again. When Jeonghan looked around, he saw Seungcheol sitting against one of the railings, pulling out what looked to be food out oh his brown paper bag.

He was having lunch? Did he always eat alone up here? Although Jeonghan didn't get much time to think more about it because the door had shut behind him rather loudly which brought Seungcheol's attention to him.

"Jeonghan?" The other said with wide, shocked eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I...I saw you come up here so-" Jeonghan started, not being able to come up with a decent lie on the spot so he tried going with the truth.

"So you followed me." Seungcheol finished for him before sighing and putting away his food. "You should just leave. Go back to the courtyard and enjoy your lunch."

"Why are you here?" Jeonghan blurted out, not being able to stop himself from the words coming out from his mouth.

"Because I can be. Now leave." Seungcheol replied, acting cold and closed off towards Jeonghan, something he hadn't been doing since they had started talking.

"Actually, I don't think you are. Now do you really want me to leave you and possibly tell a teacher or will you let me stay here with you." Jeonghan said like a smartass.

"Ugh, fine! Stay if you want. Doesn't mean I have to talk to you or anything." Seungcheol said, giving up on trying to make the other leave and going back to eating his food.

Jeonghan smiled victoriously and took a seat next to Seungcheol. "Do you always come up here?" The younger asked to which Seungcheol replied with a muffled 'maybe' as he continued to eat his food, Jeonghan taking note of what it was...just some rice wrapped in seaweed. "Do you not like food the school gives? I'm sure it's better than that." Jeonghan said, pointing at Seungcheol's poor excuse of a lunch.

Seungcheol didn't reply that time and Jeonghan just sighed as he looked forward. He thought he had actually made some progress with the other but not that they were alone, it seemed like he was back to square one.

"This is the only place in the school where I can get some peace." Seungcheol said after a few minutes of awkward silence. Jeonghan wasn't sure if the older boy was speaking to him or just talking out loud, but he chose to stay quiet and listen. "I know about the stories that go around about me. I know what everyone thinks of me...and even though I've chosen not to care....sometimes it gets tiring. This is the only place in the entire school where I know I won't be judged for anything. That's one of the reasons why I come here."

"But doesn't it get lonely? Being here by yourself, day after day?"

Seungcheol just shrugged and took a bite out of his lunch. They stayed in silence for the rest of the lunch period and when the bell rang for their next class, they chose to walk to their physics class together, earning a few whispers through the halls as onlookers saw the school's angel walk in a comfortable silence next to the school's number 1 outcast.

It was Friday and Jeonghan had just made it through his singing test. He had to apologize to Dokyeom and Seungkwan profusely after ditching them at lunch the day before and they accepted his apology and also offered to go over to the junior's house after school to work with him on his vocal notes for the test. Thanks to their help, Jeonghan felt much more confident about his test and he was sure he at least scored a B on it, which was good enough for him.

At lunch, Jeonghan had just gotten his food with his friend and they were about to sit down at his regular table to meet up with their rest of their group when he scanned the room and realized that he wouldn't find a certain someone there. And then sudden idea popped in his head that he couldn't seem to shake off. So as soon as he reached his regular table in the courtyard, he voiced his idea before some of his friends could even sit down.

"Hey guys...how about we eat lunch somewhere else today?" The long haired blonde suggested and they all looked at him suspiciously but agreed to follow him (after much of Hoshi and Dokyeom's pestering to 'go on an adventure').

He led them to the roof and a few of them were confused but Joshua, Woozi, Jun, Wonwoo and Hoshi immediately caught on when they saw Choi Seungcheol sitting down against a railing, eating some food. Those five had no problem with sitting down next to Seungcheol, offering large smiles towards the boy as Seungcheol looked at them with wide and confused eyes.

The other six were a little more reluctant but Jeonghan was able to reassure them that everything was fine.

"What are you guys doing here?" Seungcheol asked, but Jeonghan knew the question was directed at him.

"You have friends now, idiot. And friends don't let each other eat lunch alone."

"But-" 

"No buts. Now let me introduce you to the rest of my babies." Jeonghan said.

"We're not your children." Dino whined.

"And that little freshman over there is my baby, Dino." Jeonghan continued. "The cute one over there is my cutie, Seungkwan. And the one next to him is his boyfriend, Vernon." The couple waved.

"I know Vernon, we have the same music elective along with Mingyu and Wonwoo." Seungcheol said.

"That's right!" The American boy said. "It's nice to officially meet you hyung! I hope we can be good friends!"

"Right, so I guess you already know Mingyu then. Mingyu and Wonwoo are dating but I guess you already knew that too....Moving on!" Jeonghan said. "The one that looks like a horse is my precious fool, Dokyeom and lastly, the one over there sitting next to Jun is Minghao. Now you've officially met everyone!"

"It's nice to meet you all." Seungcheol said awkwardly, feeling a little flustered at all the people around him. But they all offered him warm and welcoming smiles that eased his nerves. And after the introductions, it was pretty easy for all 13 boys to fall into easy conversations, the younger ones eager to ask Seungcheol questions about being on the wrestling team and what it's like to ride a motorbike. It was nice and Jeonghan enjoyed sitting across from Seungcheol and watching the smile form on the other's face as he socialized and made new friends. The others joked and even started sharing food and it was heartwarming to see all of them getting along so well and Jeonghan couldn't help but to continue watching them and feel happy about his decision to do this. Seeing Seungcheol's smile was worth it all.

Though, about halfway through their lunch period, Seungcheol caught Jeonghan looking at him and he gave the other a grateful smile that made Jeonghan's cheeks turn pink and he quickly looked away. There was a funny feeling at the pit of his stomach and when he looked up, he saw Joshua giving him an amused look telling him that his best friend had seen the little interaction. Choosing not to think about what Joshua's look could mean, Jeonghan chose to convince himself that the fluttering feeling he got was the result of him thinking about his progress with the bet and not because of something else.

A/N: Ahhhhhh finally finished chapter 6! This took longer than expected to finish lol So Seungcheol has finally met the rest of them and he has friends!! Also, we're learning a little bit more about Seungcheol and Jeonghan is slowly changing his perspective about the other. (Spoiler: we're getting closer to real Jeongcheol moments and I can't wait lol). 

Anywayyyyy So Seventeen was nominated for 5 categories for MAMA and I'm not saying that you should vote for them...(but that's exactly what I'm saying. MY BOYS WORK SO HARD AND THEY CREATE ALL THEIR MUSIC AND CHOREOGRAPHIES ALL ON THEIR OWN AND THEY ARE ALWAYS GIVING US NEW MUSIC AND CONTENT AND WE ARE SO WELL FED! WOW SVT IS SO IMPORTANT AND THEY DESERVE SO MUCH SO PLEASE HELP THEM GET WHAT THEY DESERVE!) but you should definitely consider showing your support and helping them out :)

Also SEVENTEEN COMEBACKKK IS LITERALLY JUST AROUND THE CORNER! THERE ARE 4 VERSIONS!!! WHO ELSE IS EXCITED BC I AM SCREAMING! (sidenote: SJ is also coming back and they are my ultimate...SJ and SVT, my two faves, are both coming back on Nov 6th and ya girl is gonna die! LOL rip me)

And yeah....as always, thank you so much for reading and please do remember to leave a comment! They always make me happy lol