TOP's POV

School. It's a funny place. We get up and go every day, no questions asked. We sit in class while the teacher drones on and no about whatever subject they're teaching. They also tend to think their subject is the most important one, so they give us loads of homework. They don't even realize how swamped we are...

Our lives aren't just about school. We have other things, like sports, clubs, or work. Some of us are even training for our future jobs (YG had us there at the agency headquarters from six pm until midnight or one in the morning every night. Yeah, we're a little exhausted.) Some of us even had social lives to worry about.

Through hall of this, though, I could care less. There was one thing on my mind constantly that I cared about.

Her name was Emma.

This is why I both lived and hated school. Every morning I would be excited to even get a glimpse of her in the hallway, but I dreaded it just the same. I knew she wouldn't look my way or even give me a smile or a simple "hi". That would be too much to ask for. Biology Two became my favorite class. Why? Because Emma is my lab partner. Nothing happens between us anymore, though. She just sits at her stool, up straight, facing the board as she jotted down today's notes. Or she would turn around and talk to CL and Minzy. Her facial expression never changes. It's just lifeless and stone.  She doesn't even look around, or steal glances at me like I do of her.

She's stone.

Yesterday, though I saw a glimpse of the old Emma.

We had a lab that involved putting an egg in vinegar,  then syrup, and then water. We did that, and when we took the egg out to measure it, it was all puffy and squishy. It looked like a bouncy ball. Well, me being me, I wanted to see if it would bounce. Emma immediately shook her head, though, and insisted that though it may look unbreakable, it would splat right on the table.

Despite her warning, I dropped the egg on the table. And, well... SPLAT. It busted open, and egg went everywhere. Emma had let out a surprised squeal, and the egg had gotten in the ends of her hair and on the fronts of our blazers.

It got extremely silent after that. We just looked at the egg, and slowly, we turned to each other and stared, shocked.

Then we laughed.

Believe me, that was the best sound I had heard in a while.

After laughing a lot, Emma finally got up to grab some paper towels. As she passed me, she lightly hit y shoulder and called me BinguTop. Despite the insulting nickname Jiyong had given me and Emma had learned, I was extremely happy. She seemed normal again.

When she came back with paper towels, though, her face was back to stone, and the new Emma was  back.

She isn't like this all day, though. Just during Bio 2. Outside of class, she seems extremely happy. She smiles a lot. She laughs with her friends. There's one reason why she does this all.

Siwon.

And if it's my oldest brother that makes her happy, then I hope they stay together forever. She's always  smiles around him, and they both seem so perfect. Like, the way he stands, talking to his friends, and Emma comes up beside him and his arm naturally snakes around her waist and pulls her closer. How when something makes them laugh, they both lean against each other while cracking up. How every day after lunch, Siwon takes Emma to her locker and steals a quick kiss before she goes to her next class.

I wanted that to be me.

I wanted to be the one to put my arm around her at lunch. I wanted to be with one to let her lean against me while she laughed. I wanted to be the one to hold her hand and lead her through the crowded hallways. I wanted to be the one who she was excited to see. I wanted to be the one she'd skip up to  and hug when we had free time in the quad. I wanted to be able to kiss her in the hallways so that everyone knew that Emma Moore was MINE.

But that would never happen.

I didn't get much support from the guys, either. They all just scoffed and said it was my fault anyway, since I was the one that ended things with her. I had my chance, and I lost it. I hated myself for that. I had been so mean, so inconsiderate of her feelings.

I lost her, and there was no way of getting her back. Even if Siwon had one motivation to dating Emma, that didn't matter. She liked him and wanted to be with him. Maybe Siwon would accomplish his goal for his high school career.

I could never let that happen, though. Emma wasn't just another number.

Well, she wasn't just another number to me.