Taeyeon didn't know what force possessed her to join the cheerleading team, but that's what she ended up doing.  Then again, how was she supposed to know, in her freshman year, that Yoona, Sooyoung, and Jessica would end up joining too?  Besides, Taeyeon didn't imagine that the atmosphere of the club would have any similarities with the cheerleading teams she saw on American TV shows.  She just wanted to experience something new in high school.

But, as with all things, Taeyeon soon became sorely disappointed.

She knew she wasn't nearly as pretty or as athletic as some of the other girls, and she definitely fell way behind the stars of the team, Jessica, Yoona, and Sooyoung, in these areas.  The coach never told her any of this directly, but he also never included her in any of the team’s main routines, and usually made her do menial tasks like cleaning up or fetching water for the other cheerleaders during practice.

As a result, Taeyeon never really got to interact properly with the other members and talk about practice because she wasn't a part of it.  She’d always been ignored by the other girls on the team, but after Jessica’s rumours about her spread across the whole school, it became a lot worse.  During practice, Taeyeon could feel the other girls openly staring at her, whispering about her, even giggling behind her back.  She managed to catch snippets of their conversations, their words seeping with ignorant bigotry, and every instance chipped away at Taeyeon’s soul as if she were being hurt by real poison.  Some of the girls had left her alone previously, but it now seemed as though everyone was joining in on the fun.  Jessica wasn't even fuelling the gossip anymore; she didn't need to.  Taeyeon saw her once, standing to one side and watching, apathetically, as the fire she’d started fuelled itself.

One day, after another uneventful but equally agonising day of practice, Taeyeon was cleaning up after the others in the school gym as usual.  The whole gym was empty, and even Coach had left, but there were poms, headbands, and stray water bottles lying around everywhere.  Not to mention all the equipment that had to be put back into place.  No one even told Taeyeon to clean up after practice anymore; she knew it was her job to do so.

She usually took her time, though, since she wanted to shower before getting home and she had to wait for all the other cheerleaders to be done in the locker rooms.  Well, she didn't have to, but it was just much easier that way.

Once Taeyeon was confident enough that everyone had gone home, she grabbed her bag and headed to the showers.

Taeyeon sauntered in, greeted by the usual warm stuffiness and humidity left behind from the recent showers of the other club members.  She even started humming a tune, she was so relaxed, as she began to put her bag onto an empty bench, when she realised, through the fog, that Jessica was sitting there, still in her cheer uniform.

The popular cheerleader was sitting kind of strangely, her torso bent over, a thin sheen of sweat covering her face and neck.  She looked exhausted.  Or was she in pain?

Jessica probably hadn't even noticed Taeyeon, but Taeyeon, needless to say, freaked out because of the unexpected encounter.

“S- Sorry!  I'll leave…” Taeyeon scrambled to excuse herself.

Jessica just weakly raised her head to look vaguely in Taeyeon’s direction.  “Come here.”

“Um, m- me?”

“Yes, you.  Taeyeon.  Come.”

Taeyeon, at a complete lo