Aera never really paid much attention to Baekhyun and his friends, but they did intrigue her. Mysterious isn't the right term to describe them; invisible would be more appropriate. If she happened to catch a glimpse of them in the hallways, they’d be conversing like every other group of friends, but something was a bit different. The bond the five of them shared seemed so much stronger than all the other friendships they had with other students. The way they interacted made an outsider like her feel jealous, even if you didn’t want to be. It was a little silly, but watching them made her wish that she had a tie that strong with someone. Looking around and seeing the furtive glances the others threw at the group, she knew she wasn’t the only one who had that wish.

When Baekhyun and Sehun showed up in class, they’d never participate in any discussion, and sometimes Aera wouldn’t even realise that they were present. They were not gangsters or bullies. They were ghosts. Despite knowing their names for years, she didn’t know much about their other friends- Kai, Chanyeol, and Minhee, but she was sure they behaved the same way.

However, ever since the start of the dare, Baekhyun would make his presence known to her. Before this, he'll treat her as if she didn't even exist. When she had to pass a worksheet to him, he'll pretend that it appeared on his desk magically, not even glancing at her for a second. Perhaps it was because they've been spending so much time together after school to work on their project that they've unconsciously become comfortable with each other.

Baekhyun was playing with her jet black locks while the teacher was explaining the Boyle's law with no enthusiasm at the front of the class. He was twirling it around, trying to braid it with the minimal skills he had, and Aera didn't bother to swat his hands away. As a matter of fact, she enjoyed the feeling very much even though she felt shy at the supposedly affectionate act. He wouldn’t be able to see her flushed face, so she should enjoy the wonderful moment while it lasted. Growing up, she never had the luxury of having her hair tied for her. Her mother was out of the question, and none of her friends were close enough to lay a finger on her hair without it being painfully awkward.

At the end of the lesson, she felt his hands untangle from her hair and the emptiness that constantly enveloped her made her more bitter than usual.

Baekhyun wasn't always following the rules now. He was doing this for fun, not because he actually wanted to ‘get his life back together’. A dare is a dare.

His attendance and submissions has impressed teachers so much that he could occasionally skip classes or not hand in small assignments without getting into trouble. As you can tell, this school had its flaws.

One day during lunch, he invited Aera to come with him and his friends on an outing. It sounded harmless, but they planned it during school hours. Basically they would show up in school, attend a class or two, and then leave. She had given him a look of despair, but he only shot her an unamused look before walking away.

It seriously was unfair that she was only taking small steps out of the line but Baekhyun has made a vast improvement with his studies. It was very out of character for her to even consider going but that’s exactly what she did, blanking out in class and laying on her bed with her eyes on the ceiling, her mind making so much noise, until her exhaustion took over and she was sound asleep.

At 11am on the next day, she found herself staring at the gates at the edge of the school compound. This would be Aera's first real offence since the dare.

"Fun fact, it's really easy to climb over these gates." Kai wasn't looking at Aera but she knew he was directing that statement to her.

They weren't designed to prevent people from crossing them, but there should be guards patrolling the area. "Is the security that bad?"

"Yup," all five of them answered at the same time, making Aera flustered.

"If you tell your mom about this then it won't be this easy next time," Chanyeol pointed out before easily climbing over the green iron bars. She may be the principal’s daughter, but that doesn’t mean she was her little spy.

"I'm not planning to tell her." Saying it to no one in particular since they're all on the other side of the fence already. Unbeknownst to her, all of them heard the words that left her lips.

True to what they claim, the fence was ridiculously easy to climb over. For the safety of the students, she should seriously inform her mother about this, at least after she graduated. She didn’t care about what students wanted to do, but she did care if someone were to climb over the gates into the school and do something horrific.

"Woah." The moment Aera turned around, was slightly parted in a gape at the sight. "You guys have your own motorcycles?" These were not just any kind of motorcycle, they were sports motorcycles. Whenever the girl spotted one, she would stare at the beauty until it was out of sight.

Her heart started to beat faster when she realised she was going to ride on one. It had always been a fleeting wish, but she never thought she would actually ride one in her lifetime.

"y, huh?" Minhee’s knowing smile distracted her for a second. Aera reminded her of a child in an ice-cream store.

"Am I riding with you?" She bounced on the balls of her feet as they started to rev their engines, the excitement tingling at her feet. Minhee shook her head, but she didn't really look that apologetic.

"I can't balance well with a passenger." Slipping her head into her helmet, she kicked at the stand and then nudged her head at the boys beside her. "Pick one of these idiots."

Aera frowned as she got a good look of each of the four boys. The idea of being squashed together wasn’t appealing in the least. Logically, she'd pick Baekhyun, and they all knew that as well because they each started driving off leaving only him behind.

Handing her a helmet, he patted the space behind him. "Hop on." Heaving a sigh, she ignored his charming smile before not so politely taking the helmet from his hand.

Baekhyun couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as he watched Aera put on the helmet. It was obvious she hasn't put one on before in her life as the clasp got stuck between her cheek and the helmet, yet she was still looking for it. "Come here," he held her wrist and pulled her closer to him.

Aera's cheeks were burning. He was so close to her that she felt his knee nudging her on the thigh and his breath on the tip of her nose. Staring at his lips only, and noticing his mole above his lip, she quietly let him remove the clasp, his fingers brushing against her cheek. He was careful, his touches ghosting over her skin. Patting the top of her helmet once to get her to look at him, he gave her a cheeky grin before muttering an unnecessary, "Cute." Aera scrunched her face in disgust at him and gave him a punch in the arm before leaving his side.

Once she swung her leg over the bike did she realise just how close she had to be with Baekhyun. What's more, it's a sports motorcycle. It's not really meant for two people. Also, it's going to be a fast ride, so she had to hold on to him if she didn't want to die. The boy didn't even give Aera time to collect herself, speeding off in the direction his friends went. He heard a yelp and felt her arms wrapping around his waist really tightly, and behind that visor was Baekhyun laughing, his eyes turning to crescents.

Aera was pissed at him at first for scaring the living daylights out of her but after her anger subsided, she relished in the feeling of adrenaline pumping through her system as he swerved expertly through tight spaces between cars and trucks, and the strong wind that whipped her hair around crazily added to the effect. Her hold on his waist get less tight as time passed by.

Baekhyun being him, he just had to surpass his friends, zooming past them in a speed that was definitely not allowed on the roads. They didn't back down, of course, and it turned into a race. Aera looked to her left and saw Sehun about to overtake them, Chanyeol right on his tail. To her right was Minhee and Kai, also in a similar position.

A part of her was really nervous. The police would definitely pull them over if they caught wind of high school kids breaking speed limits. And obviously, it was really dangerous; they all could get seriously hurt if something went wrong. However, another part of her felt as competitive