Taemin cried so hard that he choked on his own tears. He couldn't breathe. He closed his eyes.

And died.

The end.

Haha do you really think that Taekey are going to be apart? I'm not going to break apart my OTP, heehee :) They live together in The Lowdown! I promise there will be a happy ending~ haha was anyone fooled by what I wrote at the top?

But without further adieu, Chapter Twenty Six!

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Taemin heard Onew say softly through his sobs. He could feel Onew put his arms around him and Minho patting him on the back. He could feel it, but he was crying so hard it was like he was out of his body. He tried to open his eyes but all he saw were the tears, tears, tears everywhere.

“I-I-Key-Key,” he hiccupped, trying to say the words, but every time he thought about it he couldn’t say the actual words. That would make it real.

“Key? What did Key do?” said Onew gently, hugging him gently.

Taemin couldn’t remember the last time Onew had hugged him. And it felt wrong. He didn’t like it. This wasn’t the smell he knew and loved. It wasn’t the body that he wanted to run his hands down. But he couldn’t worm away because he was crying too hard, so he kept his body still, letting Onew do whatever he wanted.

“He-he-he,” he tried again, failing.

“It’s okay Taemin,” said Minho gently.

“He dumped me!” Taemin screamed. “He dumped me! And he said he would never leave me! YOU SAID YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME!” he screamed, hoping Key would hear and feel bad. He better feel bad. He hoped he was curled up somewhere, crying just as hard and feeling the same way as he was. He hoped he felt guilty.

“Shhhh, shhh,” soothed Onew, who was becoming scared at Taemin’s state. He wasn’t sure this was healthy for Taemin.

“He said, he said, he would be there for me,” Taemin  whimpered, drawing out the words because he was crying. He was so sad. So, so sad.

“That little er,” cursed Minho.

“Do you want me to call your therapist?” Onew asked.

“No,” Taemin cried. “No no no.”

Taemin kept crying. He didn’t know for how long. All he remembered was crying and crying so much that he started to choke on his salty tears and sobs. He didn’t know how long Onew held him for and how long Minho kept awkwardly patting him for. Jonghyun came in after a while and nervously paced the floor as Taemin cried so hard that in moments he thought he was going to throw up. But he got tired. And he wanted them to leave.

He calmed down enough to stop sobbing out loud and closed his eyes, hopefully giving the hint to his hyungs that he was tired and wanted to be left alone.

“Hyungs.. I’m tired. Can I please sleep?” he asked, his breaths still unsteady and his voice shaking.

“Sure,” answered Onew. “Want one of us to stay?”

“No,” he said quickly. “No, please leave me alone.”

“I think it’s a good idea if one of us stays,” Onew said uncertainly. He was worried what Taemin would do by himself.

“No, I don’t want you to. I just want to rest,” hiccupped Taemin.

“I’m going to stay,” said Onew.

“No! Please, please leave me alone! I dragged myself out of that river, I’m not going to try kill myself now again, please! Leave me alone! I just want some time to myself. LEAVE ME ALONE!” he bellowed.

Onew, looking scared, hesitantly walked out the door and shut it gently after him as Minho and Jonghyun rushed out silently.

Taemin was glad they were gone. Now he had time to think. He wiped his eyes on his blanket, sniffing.  He gave a watery smile as he wiped. A few months ago he was convinced Key didn’t love him. Now, he was convinced he did. And that they belonged together. He wanted no one else. He had fought against the river for this. He wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Yes, this was the real him. The one who didn’t take no for an answer. Key was what he wanted with his whole heart. And what Taemin wanted, he would try his hardest to get. Key still loved him. He had said that. But if Key really thought Taemin would just let it go this easily he was wrong. Maybe Key had forgotten just how persistent Taemin was in the first place.

Taemin shook his head with a sad grin on his face. He was not going to stop until he got Key back.  He bit his lip, still grinning and wiping his tears. Maybe this time he got to play the man this time. He was going to try get back Key through any means possible. And he knew Key could not resist him. He had been surprised that Key had managed to walk away from his tears. Maybe it was because he had seen Taemin cry so much lately that he was used to it. Taemin swallowed. He’ll show Key a side he had never seen before.

He was going to try his hardest to lure Key back with his body.

He had never done that sort of thing before. Let’s see if he can resist that, he thought.

A surge of confidence that he hadn’t felt in a while coarsed through him as he planned it. Finally. He really was his old self again. He had been waiting so long to feel like this. He remembered his fever induced dream very clearly. If he wanted to be happy, all he needed to do was be himself…

…and Taemin had always, always been a trickster. And sort of vain. He knew he had a nice body. Now it was time to use it to his advantage.

Key still loved him. He was certain Key still loved him. He wouldn’t think about any other alternative. Key was his. He wasn’t going to accept this ‘break up.’ He absolutely refused to accept the idea that they were not together.

And he was going to try his hardest to make sure Key saw it too.

“Kim Kibum, I will leave you speechless,” he said out loud, smiling. “I will have you begging to be with me again.”

He laughed at his own diva-ish tone.

“Welcome back Lee Taemin,” he sang, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. He was back. He finally felt okay with himself. He couldn’t even think about himself anymore, all he could think about was Key. And how Key was going to come crawling back.

Finally at peace, he closed his eyes and sighed, drifting off.

He woke up to someone shaking him.

“Taemin? Taemin? Are you alright?” asked a voice.

Minho.

Taemin groaned in response. His eyes were sore and crusty from all the crying and his throat hurt a little bit. He felt like his face was puffy.

“I bought you dinner. Are you hungry?”

Taemin noted that he was in fact, hungry. His stomach rumbled at the right time, and he could smell something tempting.

He sat up groggily as Minho sat on his bed.

“Here, let me help you.”

Taemin was about to open his mouth and let Minho feed him in his sleepy state before he remembered his plan.

“No,” he said, closing his mouth quickly so his teeth snapped shut.

“What?” asked Minho.

“I’m not eating.”  Taemin shook his head.

“Taemin, don’t do this. Please eat.”

“No.”

“Maybe if I save this for later?” Minho asked hopefully. “No Taemin, please eat, I know you’re hungry.”

“No. I’m never eating. Not ever,” said Taemin, shaking his head.

“Why? Don’t you like this?” asked Minho desperately. ‘Don’t do this Taemin, I beg you.”

Taemin crossed his arms, feeling a bit like a foolish spoilt brat. He didn’t like it, but he had been a professional actor, for God’s sake.

 “I’m not eating from YOU. Only Key. I will only eat from Key.”

Minho let the spoon clatter to the tray. “Are you sure you want to see him?”

“Yes. Make Key come back in here.”

Minho left the room to look for Key, giving one last helpless glance at Taemin. Taemin stared at the digital clock on the desk and watched as the seconds turned into a minute, the minute turned into five minutes. He was getting really, really hungry. His stomach growled. Looking at the food made him so hungry.

Minho stepped back into the room, his eyes darting around nervously.

“Key doesn’t want to come Taemin. I don’t think it’s good if you saw each other.”

“I’m not eating unless he’s the one that’s feeding me.”

“Taemin, don’t. Don’t wait for him,” pleaded Minho. “He’s not coming.”

“Well I’ll guess I’ll just starve to death. Hyung, I’ve said it so many times and I’ll say it again as many times as you want. I am not eating until I’m looking at Key’s face and he’s the one sitting on this bed ing spoon feeding me. I will only eat for Key.”

He sat back on the pillows and he knew he had his stubborn face on.

“I’ll get Onew hyung and Jonghyun hyung,” said Minho desperately, trying to threaten Taemin. “They’ll force you to eat. I’m the nice one. Please just eat!”

“Do it. Tell them.  I don’t care,” said Taemin. God, he sounded like a stupid 12 year old girl! But he didn't care as long as he got what he wanted.

 “If you want me to eat, bring me Key.”

A/N Yes, bring Key to Prince Taemin! Key can't run away from Taemin this easily. I'm loving all you guys' reactions to my little taekey break up :) I want Taemin to be himself again though and not need Key to initiate everything. Confidence is key! teehee how punny ;)

 But I promise there will be a happy ending! Keep commenting, the fun is finally beginning for Taemin :)

Sigh. Sometimes I really want to start this story all over again :/

oh and btw in the dream Taemin had where 'Key' was in a top hat? it was sort of because of the mad hatter but also because in the MV Taemin is the one wearing the top hat. it was him all along~ :)

And don't you just love how quickly I'm updating? Everyday! Finally, I'm on a roll :)