But making that decision and acting upon it are two separate things. As much as Chunji wanted to make things okay between them; for them to be able to become good friends, he couldn't bring himself to mention it. He couldn't bring it up in front of the other guys, and he and Niel were never alone together.

Even if he had managed to catch the other boy alone at some point, he had to wonder whether or not he'd be able to get the words out. The way Niel would look at him; a look full of dislike, made him uncomfortable. It made his words get stuck in his throat. It made him think that Niel wouldn't accept his apology if he even managed to get the words out.

That was why things were still strained between them a few weeks later. L. Joe hadn't been at school that day, because of an excursion one of his classes went on. They never attended school that day. So Chunji was left to walk home by himself. Feeling unhappy and hungry, Chunji had wandered into the city when school finished in search of something to eat. Although most of the other students would come down there daily, the city was in the opposite direction to Chunji's house. As a result it made his trip home take nearly twice as long. Consequently, he didn't tend to go there after school. Today had been a bit of a treat for himself.

By the time he was walking past the school, now on his way home, the place was pretty much deserted. The last bus had already left, and there were no students he could see milling about the place. Even most of the teachers had left, given how vacant the parking lot was by this time.

That was probably why the flashes of a group of kids in his school uniform a couple of hundred metres inside the campus caught his attention. He paused, thinking maybe he'd imagined it, but sure enough he caught sight of more movement. There was definitely someone there.

His heart sped up as he realised that he was the only one that knew there was something going on. What should he do? Should he leave, and pretend he hadn't seen anything? But what if someone needed his help? He gulped slightly, knowing he couldn't in good conscience just walk away.

He started walking towards the site of the boys he'd seen glimpses of, slowly. He didn't want to draw attention to himself. If there was a group of people as he suspected there was, it wouldn't lead to anything good. Chunji knew he wouldn't be able to help himself, if they him, because they realised they were being watched.

As he got closer, the sounds of voices got louder. He could make out several different voices, most of them sounding unfamiliar. But every now and again, he'd catch short strains from a voice that did sound familiar.

He tried to place whose voice it was, quickening his steps, now that he knew someone he knew might be in trouble. He almost rounded the corner, but ducked out of sight.

Niel.

He froze in place, seeing the younger boy surrounded by a handful of guys, the scene reminding him of the one he'd observed from a distance a few weeks earlier, before school. He wondered if these were the same boys, but last time they'd been too far away for him to be able to make out their voices or their faces. Even if he had been able to, he still probably wouldn't be able to identify them, as their backs were turned to him right now, for which he was grateful.

Niel didn't seem to have seen him, gaze firmly locked on the boy directly in front of him as he spoke.

Despite how the situation appeared, he didn't seem to be afraid. His back was straight, and his features angry. Though he still couldn't make out what words were being exchanged, everyone muttering to one another, under their breath, he could tell that Niel was talking to them easily enough. Far from being intimidated by their arrangement, he was clearly giving them as much anger and attitude as the younger boy gave to Chunji whenever they were left alone.

The thought that Niel would act like that to boys that were bulling him, made him want to laugh, but the situation still felt too serious to him. As much as he might've wanted to applaud Niel's guts, he couldn't say it felt appropriate right now.

Niel rolled his eyes, giving the guy in front of him a firm shove, one which was promptly returned. Chunji's heart beat faster worried that the scene would escalate right before his eyes. He'd never seen anyone get into a real fight. He didn't want this to be his first. Why would Niel do something so stupid, couldn't he see that he was outnumbered?

The other boy's shove, sent Niel hurtling back into the brick wall behind him. Chunji could guess that the impact must've hurt but Niel didn't give any indication to that effect. He did rest up against it momentarily, as he gathered his breathing. Whatever the other guy had been saying to him, must have been getting him worked up.

They only talked for a few more moments, the other guy trying to get up into Niel's face, but the younger boy pushed his fingers away impatiently, as though he were dealing with an impertinent child. Chunji could guess that the action probably wasn't well received, but the boys dispersed, leaving Niel where he was.

The younger boy waited until they were out of his eye sight, before he allowed his form to crumple slightly, using the wall for support momentarily. He rubbed at his face tiredly, before he drew himself up to his full height once more. He started walking in Chunji's direction, though his mind was clearly on other things. More than likely whatever it was he'd been talking with that other boy about.

Niel might actually have been able to walk straight past him and not realised, if Chunji hadn't reached out for the other boy's wrist. The action had been instantaneous; something in him just couldn't let Niel walk away from what had happened, without letting him know that he was there. His pulse was firm beneath his fingers, but it was also racing.

Niel's eyes slid to him, shimmering with first recognition and then anger. Chunji couldn't be certain how much of that anger was because of what Chunji had clearly observed, and possibly overheard, and how much of it was simply because Niel hated him. “What do you think you're doing?” he shouted.

Chunji wasn't sure whether his harsh words were about his clearly having observed the little altercation between Niel and the group of boys, or the fact that he was gripping his wrist. He quickly, released it, fearing the repercussions were he to keep a hold of it, despite how loose his hold had been. “Uh...Was that... Were they the same boys from the other morning? Are they the guys that have been hassling you?” Chunji questioned, knowing that he would only have Niel's attention for a short period of time, before he'd storm off.

“Nobody's been hassling me.” Niel bit back tersely, his hands forming angry fists at his sides, but he made no move to storm off, immediately.

“That's not what the othe—” Chunji began, tone disbelieving, and far more confident than he really felt. He was half convinced that Niel was going to hit him at this rate.

“Look, what is it going to take for you to get the message? L. Joe says you're really smart; everyone else agrees, so how can you be so dense? I said that there is nothing going on! Will you just back off..?” he demanded, storming past the other boy, stomping as he walked, as he tried to vent his anger in a non-confrontational way.

Chunji was starting to become convinced that maybe he just wasn't meant to get along with the younger boy; maybe he was just destined to be hated by this one boy.

Wait, he knows that he's smart? He's asked?

- -

After that, relations between the two boys had gotten even more strained. Every time it even looked as though Chunji were about to reveal what he'd seen after school, whenever CAP enquired about whether or not the boys had left him alone, he would glare at Chunji. He wasn't used to receiving those looks around the other guys, and he was amazed that no one had caught any of the looks he was sending him.

He also hadn't spied the other boy by himself since the incident had happened. He had wondered vaguely if the other boy was trying to avoid him, but had dismissed the thoughts in irritation. Of course Niel was trying to avoid him; he hated him. But then he'd remember the fact that Niel knew something about him, and the thought brought a goofy grin to his lips.

Maybe that was why he was so surprised to see the younger boy when he went to the supermarket. He really would have preferred to stay at home, knowing that every second he spent out of his room, would take away from the sleep he was getting that evening. Unfortunately, the teachers were pretty tough on the kids at their school, and Chunji, as one of the smartest, never allowed himself to fall behind in his homework. That might not have been a problem, if every one of his teachers didn't insist on thinking as though their subject was the only one the students took, and thus would be the only one they had homework for.

5 different subjects worth of homework, took a while to complete each day.

But he couldn't exactly say no to his mother either. As much as he had wanted to argue with her; to try and get out of it, he could hear how frazzled she was by the tone she used. She was racing around all day, and now all she wanted was for her son to do one measly little thing for her.

So he went down to the supermarket. He found the few items she'd asked him to pick up for her, within 5 minutes. He'd be in and out, within a moment, he was sure. He joined the line with the shortest cue, not paying that much attention to what he was doing as he dumped his items down on the conveyor belt.

“Hello, my name is Daniel, how are you today?” the cashier queried, tone polite, with a bright grin perched atop his lips, until he actually looked at who he was talking to. “Oh it's you.” he stated, simply, making sure to keep both his face and his tone carefully impassive as he spoke after that.

Chunji supposed there was probably some rule about how he was supposed to speak to the customers. Even if he knew them, he probably wasn't allowed to display any anger to a customer, while he was working. Even as he rationalised it, he found that he felt a little bit happier, hearing Niel speak to him without being angry at him, for a change. “I'm good thanks. And you?”

“I am working. How do you think I am feeling?” Niel retorted, but his voice was soft; emotionless. Without the hatred that normally infected his tone when he spoke to Chunji, he found that the younger boy had a very pleasant voice. It was quite nice to hear him talking like that; his informality and lack of dislike, almost fooled Chunji into thinking they were actually friends.

“I didn't know you worked here..” Chunji commented lightly, observing the quick movement of Niel's hands, as he scanned the items Chunji was buying. He frowned realising how few things he was actually getting. He wished that his mother had asked him to buy more stuff so that he'd get to be here longer. He was enjoying this; it almost felt pleasant being around Niel for a change.

“Unsurprising. For a nerd, you don't know very much.” Niel commented, lightly.

“How would you know?” countered Chunji, wondering if he might get something more out of Niel before his transaction was complete, and he would have to leave the store. He noted the line behind him, disappointedly finding quite a few people waiting for him to finish.

Niel didn't bother to answer him, only pressing a few keys on the screen, before informing the other boy, how much his items would cost, altogether. Chunji handed him the money distractedly, realising the unexpected meeting would now be at an end.

Still, the way Niel looked right now, he could be forgiven for thinking, foolish though it might be, that Niel actually enjoyed speaking with him.

- -

When he returned to school the next day, Niel made no mention of their meeting the previous day, so Chunji didn't either. He felt like it was a secret between the two of them. It felt nice to have secrets he shared with Niel. But given the way they avoided speaking to one another that much, when the group was altogether, he supposed most of their interactions were secrets.

But the supermarket felt like a different sort of secret. All of their other interactions had been riddled with conflict. That one wasn't. As such it felt special; it felt healthy and good, and Chunji wished more than anything that they could have a repeat of it.

- -

Under normal circumstances, Niel had no problems with attending his classes. Unfortunately, today his teachers had decided that they should torture him. For some reason, it was decided that all students should be allowed to develop basic computer skills during class time. Niel already knew how to use a computer; he could make a PowerPoint with no problem, but no one would ever take a student's word for it. They were supposed to be practising.

That was why he found himself bored out of his mind in his last class before lunch. There weren't enough computers in the library, and so some students were working in groups. The teamwork seemed to only serve as a distraction, however, as his classmates had yet to finish the task. Niel was working alone, and with his knowledge of the course content he was supposed to construct the presentation around, combined with his computing skills, he'd finished the classwork at least ten minutes previous.

So that was how Niel found himself in his current position. He sighed softly to himself. He was bored out of his mind, and there was still a while until lunch. He'd already finished his work. He wasn't foolish enough to notify his teacher, lest they expect him to do some 'extra' work. Why should he have to do more work than his classmates? It'd serve no purpose and would have no impact on his grade, not that he needed it.

He'd prefer to be able to talk to his friends, but none of them took this class with him. It had never really mattered before, since this teacher normally got students to work individually; the way Niel preferred things. But now he was feeling bored, and even a bit lonely.

Niel wasn't used to feeling that way.

Sure he lived alone. Sure, he liked to give off a vibe that he was cool and independent; the sort of person who would prefer to be alone. But that wasn't how he felt, right now. All his classmates were chatting, in their section of the library. Surrounded by the din of laughter and friendly conversation, he felt left out; unwelcome.

There were other computers nearby. The ones being used by other students, there on their own. Most likely, they were students, lucky enough to have a free period right now, who were doing work for their other subjects. They were laughing too.

He didn't know any of them. Or at least he didn't think he did.

He tried to shrug off the thought. It wouldn't have mattered if he had known someone over there. The two groups were not allowed to mingle with one another. They wouldn't be able to come over and join him, nor would he be allowed to join them. They wouldn't have been able to talk.

Still, just being able to spot a familiar face right now, would have done wonders as far as Niel was concerned. Just to remind him that he wasn't as alone as he felt; that he had friends. That there were people who cared about him.

He noted with vague disinterest, the way one of the people in the other section was moving around. The boy kept walking backwards and forwards, from one computer to another; leaning over the other students' shoulders. From what Niel could tell he was laughing with them; talking to them.

The boy turned, and Niel's gaze shot straight down to the table in front of him, worried that the other boy would see him. His heart sped up at the thought of getting to observe Chunji.

He sighed to himself as he observed the older boy. His gaze remained fixed on his form, taking in every detail he possibly could from his movements; his facial features, everything he could take in about the other boy from this distance.

He just didn't understand that boy. Niel wasn't the sort of person that liked confusing people. To him, everything was black and white; clear cut. Chunji refused to be categorised so easily, and that irritated him. There were times, when he was convinced that he'd have the other boy figured out, and then he'd do something unexpected.

He hated the way Chunji confused him like that. He could picture the day he met Chunji so clearly in his mind. He'd been so arrogant; so confident that day, when they were playing Singstar. He'd been so sure that he'd known what sort of person Chunji was by then. He was that arrogant, pretty boy. The one that thought they were better than every one else; they were selfish and trampled all over other people, without a care to how that might make them feel.

The way he was when they started playing Singstar proved that.

Niel kind of wished that Chunji would just act like that all the time. He could hate someone like that easily enough. It was okay to hate someone like that. If that's the sort of person that he really was, then Niel's hatred of him would be completely justified.

But then there were other things he knew about Chunji that just didn't make any sense, if he were that sort of person. Things that made him seem like a nice guy. He couldn't hate a nice guy. So which was he?

Was he really that arrogant prick that was always butting in to Niel's business. Or was he that teenage boy who, didn't seem to care one way or the other about his appearance. Was he that boy who was admired by his peers for being so smart, but who was still ignored by most of them. Was he that boy, who despite supposedly hating Niel, looked at him with such concern whenever he saw something happening to him.

Was he that boy L. Joe and CAP described to him? Should he trust his own observations instead? But then which one was real? He'd seen both; he'd seen Chunji acting arrogant, but he'd also seen him being kind.

He felt his gaze narrow slightly as he observed the way the other boy was interacting with his classmates. They were clearly asking him for help, and Chunji was politely obliging them. He disliked the thought of those other kids using Chunji like that. He could see it in their faces; no appreciation, no gratitude. He just knew that they saw him assisting them as a duty of his; that he would be the rude one, were he to refuse.

While he couldn't careless if Chunji was being used, were he a mean person, Niel still wasn't sure if he was. Nice boys didn't deserve to be used like that, and in his mind there was still a chance that Chunji was just that. He didn't like the idea of them using Chunji, if he turned out to be a nice guy, and thus he found it easy to dislike those other kids he was helping.

Though maybe he was just irritated because Chunji helping out his classmates, was just more evidence that maybe L. Joe and CAP were right; that maybe Chunji was a nice person. That would make it that much harder to try and stop himself from developing feelings for the other boy.

Damn Chunji for being confusing. Damn him for being very pretty. Damn him for that stupid kiss.

- -