It seemed to drone on forever. Any other day, the class would’ve been a breeze. AP Biology is Jaemin’s class, he always had the highest overall grade, most in depth lab reports and his notes could save any failing student. Not only did he love the subject, but the student also admired their teacher. Mr. Kim had a straightforward way of teaching and always encouraged his students to do better. But Jaemin couldn’t even focus on today’s lesson.

Looking down at his notesheet, it was a plain canvas. Not a single word was on the page and Jaemin’s irritation doubled. His mind was floundering with thoughts, albeit, they were anything but educational information.

He let out a grunt of frustration, huffing out from his nose. Mark looked at him expectantly, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

    “You good Nana? You seem… tense,” Mark whispered, ducking his head down to train the teacher’s attention away from him. He glanced behind his shoulder subtly.

Jaemin frowned at him, his agitation increased tenfold, but he didn’t want to show the older.

    “Yeah, I’m fine Mark, no need to worry,” Jaemin muttered, averting his gaze back at the board.

Mark sighed before he started to write down more notes on his already packed notesheet.

    “What got you like this? I know you would have like, a whole an notebook full by now,” Mark asked, looking at the younger with worry.

Jaemin let out a small grunt for his answer as he agitatedly ruffled his hair, disheveling his neat honey brown locks.

The thing is, he would answer his friend if he could, but he himself doesn’t know what’s wrong with him. He figures that it’s just a fever or a bug or he was still thawing from the break. Jaemin was just warming up. Cracking his knuckles, he picked up his pen, looking to the board with determination in his eyes. Okay, concentrate. Focus.

He visibly deflates, seeing his teacher erase the board chock-full of information. Slamming his pen on the table, he slumped in his chair.

Hmph, so much for that.

    “Okay class, that would be it for today’s lesson. I hope you were paying attention and were taking notes since memorization is key for this unit. Anyways, pack up and I will see you tomorrow,” Mr. Junmyeon said as he busied himself with arranging the papers on his desk, preparing for the next class. “We should have the section test in a week.”

There was an audible grumble from the class and the teacher could only smirk at the reaction.

    “But we just got back from break,” some grumbler said, annoyance prevalent in their voice.

The majority of the class agreed, except for Jaemin, Mark and surprisingly, the new kid. Mr. Junmyeon kept his mouth shut, waiting for the students to quiet down as he glared through the lot. But amidst the ruckus, an unfamiliar voice had yelled out.

    “The hell are you even saying? You’re here because you chose to be here. Don’t whine as if you didn't expect this. Unless of course, you’re too retarded for this class.”

The room suddenly turned quiet, a shocked expression donned half of the students’ faces as they gaped at the new student. Jeno’s face was void of any remorse, seemingly taunting the entire room to challenge him further.

Then everyone turned to their teacher, who- with all the right to- was fuming. His eyes were wide and his soft look hardened considerably. To say that Jaemin was a little scared was an understatement. Mr. Junmyeon was one of the most relaxed teachers in the school, always slow to anger and tolerated the behavior of most students. But one thing he cannot stand was swearing and students doing obscene acts. A lot of the times, he would laugh it off and warn the student with a very tight, reassuring hold on their shoulder.

It’s not like Jeno sees his teacher’s slowly reddening face though, he’s too busy having a stare-down with the grumbler and the air in the room becomes more tense as it prolongs. Looking back at their teacher, he rolled his eyes at the two students.

    “Lee Jeno, I recommend that you do not use that word in my class again. Unless of course, you want to get sent to the principal’s office,” Mr. Kim said through gritted teeth, obviously copying the words of the newcomer.

His voice sliced through the air like a knife, cutting the tension in the room.

    “And to anyone who complained, keep it up and I’ll add five more questions per complain.”

    “Hyuck, you should’ve heard the new kid! Christ, he almost got sent to the dungeon and it’s only his first day.”

Jaemin palmed his face, trying to massage his imaginary headache. The new kid, to be frank, was burdensome. Even though the brunet has only had one class with him, it always seemed as if Jeno was always there. It wasn’t like Jeno was actually around him to make his presence known, he didn’t have to- other people did it for him. Everyone in the school was talking about the new kid with the leather jacket and nice hair. Many of the girls were muttering about how “oh, we share the same classes,” followed by a not so silent plea of thirst for his attention.  

Barely four hours into the school day, and Jeno’s had nearly the whole school population of girls at his feet. Meanwhile the guys were fighting to see whether to beat him up or not.

To most people, it would be weird to have the students in the school you’re going to, to know all about you already. But to Lee Jeno, it’s normal. His name has escaped the lips of most high school students in the city. Infamous for rebellious antics, many have tried to join him in his act, and have been rudely rejected. A kind- “ off,” and an icy glare would usually suffice. But for those who remained adamant, it was said that they would have to undergo an initiation- led by Jeno himself. Those initiations could range from taking a in birdbath in public to robbing three corner stores. Some say people have died from the initiations, some say they ended up in juvie, but all they know is that Jeno always comes out unscathed. Either or, people didn’t want to risk it.

Donghyuck gave a small laugh and patted his friend’s back as the two walked to their lockers. Many groups crowded and lingered around in the hallway, but they still parted when they saw Jaemin heading for their direction.

    “Make way for the SM’s Prince!” Donghyuck yelled, leading the two as he shooed the people who weren’t paying attention. “His majesty is not be disturbed!”

While Donghyuck parted the sea of students, Jaemin chuckled behind him. Donghyuck had given him the nickname during their freshman year at one of their school dances. He had been feeling finicky and wanted to go to the snack table, but it was surrounded with people, not just anyone, more importantly- the seniors. Even with his snarky personality, Donghyuck wasn’t about to go into that shark tank. So what if he accidentally called the most desirable girl in their year a burnt chicken nugget, and calling her s faker than her personality- they weren’t getting a piece of his tonight.

    “I’m ballsy Nana, but I’m not suicidal,” Donghyuck had said. “Besides, I thought you were helping me diet.”

He put no resistance in his steps, letting Jaemin drag him to the table. Expecting to be bombarded with insulting words and rough pushes, Donghyuck had braced himself. But nothing came. He had dared himself to look up and was shocked to see the seniors making way. Looking up at his friend, he felt a warm rush throughout his body.

    “You know, I really felt like a princess then Nana. My prince was so caring,” Donghyuck cooed, blowing kisses to the brunet, who humorously dodged them. The two loved to reminisce of the roots of their friendship.

They finally got to their locker, which were right beside each other, and started putting their books away. As usual, some brightly colored envelopes fell from the top of his locker. He watched them flutter down, falling on the mount of books in his hands.

One, two… huh, six today. Thank goodness.

He looked around the hallway and saw a few girls lingering about, sending chance glances at the brunet. They’re quite shy, I’m guessing.

Meeting one of their gazes, he smiled softly. The girl started to approach him, but a crowd of people blocked her way.

    “Hey move over, Lee’s coming,” one boy said, pushing his friend into a trash can.

    “Damn, I thought he would be taller,” another said.

    “Shut up! He might hit you if he hears!” someone replied, cowering behind their friend.

    “Yeah, you know what they say, the shorter they are, the closer they are to hell.”

The crowd parted, giving Jeno a runway as if he were Maleficent, walking into the castle uninvited with the sole purpose of harm. And that is exactly how people saw it, going by the look on their faces.

Walking with hands in his pocket and a neutral face, he looked aloof.

He was approaching their direction and the people around started to question if the two knew each other. The Prince and the Villain. The boy who dressed in pastel sweaters and the boy who wore the leather jacket and the distressed shirt. No, they don’t really know each other. But someone does.

Jeno brushed past Jaemin and stopped in front of Donghyuck.

    “Hey,” Jeno said to Donghyuck. “I didn’t forget.”

Jaemin gave his friend a weird look, a mixture of confusion and surprise decorated his face.

    “Hyuck, what is-”

The shorter of course, brushed his friend off with a wave, turning his full attention to Jeno.

    “I want to do the initiation. Let me be a part of your group.”