He leaned his head down, his eyelids slowly closing as he closed the distance between our mouths.  I found myself leaning in to meet him, my focus on those soft, kissable lips.  The centimeters were quickly diminishing, only a few remained…

Brrrriiinngggg!  The sharp shrill of the warning bell sounded in the distance.  Both of us whipped our heads up at the noise, looking back to the door of the greenhouse.  We locked gazes again, both of us blushing.  I pushed myself from Youngmin and scooped up my bag, racing to the door.  Opening it, I turned to Youngmin again. 

“Well, let’s go!  I don’t want to be late!”  I ran out, not waiting for him. 

Ara Cha kept glancing at Youngmin and me, probably sensing the awkward tension hovering around the two of us.  I refused to look at anyone, keeping my attention focused on the lecture.  Minwoo had been upset that we had just run out on him during lunch and wanted to know where we had been.  Neither of us said anything to him.  Track practice was just as bad.  He kept badgering Youngmin and me whenever he had the chance.  Luckily, he couldn’t keep up my pace for more than three miles, so I was able to escape eventually.

At the end of practice, Coach kept the long distance team after for a little while longer.  Our group of fourteen huddled together in a curious ball, wondering what was going on.

“We’ve all been training hard for a few weeks now and I am happy to announce that our first meet will be held next Friday,” Coach revealed.  There was an excited chatter among our group, but I kept my attention trained on Coach.  “It will be a home meet and right after school, so be prepared.  For the rest of the meets, check out my office for a schedule.  We have the next four months planned and I advise all of you to keep track of your own events.  The other coaches have told this to their athletes as well and I expect you all to support each other.  That is all, now go home!”

The group scattered, talking animatedly about our first event of the year.  I was quiet, thinking about what events I’ll participate in.  Obviously the mile and two mile, but what about the 800m?  I could do it, but would I have enough energy to run all three?  As I was lost in my thoughts, I accidently bumped into someone.

“Eh, mianhaeyo,” I bowed my head. 

I heard a chuckle.  “It seems we keep bumping into each other, don’t we?”

I looked up and realized I’d run into Jeongmin.  “Eto, what do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“This happened at the pool party, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.”  I smiled embarrassedly. 

His expression changed and I knew that nosy look anywhere.  My brother wore it often when he was home.

“So, Jin Haneul-ah,” Jeongmin began.  “What happened with you and Youngmin on Saturday?”

I blushed, not wanting to get into that.  I looked around but found no sign of Youngmin.  Geez, where was that kid when I needed him?

“Um, nothing happened.”

Jeongmin smirked.  “Really?  That’s not what Kwangmin made it sound like.  Sleeping together?  That serious now, are we?”

I blushed harder.  “Honestly, Kwangmin-ssi is exaggerating.  I went to Youngmin-oppa’s house so he could tutor me and then when we were done we watched a movie and we ended up falling asleep on the sofa.”  I thought it would be best to clear the rumor before it spread.

“What did he tutor you in?” Jeongmin still seemed dubious.

“Korean,” I answered confidently.  “I may be able to speak it well enough, but it’s really hard for me to read.  Youngmin-oppa was helping me out.”

“So what now?” Jeongmin asked.  “Are you two dating or something?”

My eyes widened.  “M-mwo?  Why would you say something like that?  Of course we’re not dating!”

The boy narrowed his eyes.  “So let me get this straight.  You’re not dating but you sleep together.  What are you?  Friends with benefits?”

I slapped his shoulder.  “I already told you it’s not like that!  Oppa and I are just friends.  That’s all.”

“That’s another thing.  Youngmin never let’s anyone call him oppa.  Never.”

That made me pause.  “Mwo?  Really?  But he told me to call him that…”

“He must really like you then, if he even asked you to.”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  “But a lot of other girls call him oppa.”

“Doesn’t mean he likes it.”

“But why would he want me to call him that?”

“Like I said, he must really like you.”  Jeongmin’s expression turned mischievous.  He looked around as if searching for someone.  He then looked at me, a smile on his lips.

“I don’t like that look,” I mumbled.

“Just go with it,” Jeongmin said, leaning into me.

“Go with what?  What are you talking about?  Yah, get away from me!” I protested.

“Shh,” he chided.  “I’m testing something.”

“What are you testing?” I queried as he moved in even closer, pushing me up against the stadium walls.

“Why do you ask so many questions?”  He placed one forearm next to my head, rendering my sight it that direction null and effectively blocking an escape that way.  He leaned in closer, wrapping his free arm around my waist.  I threw my hands up, stopping him from moving closer.  “Just trust me.”

I glared.  “Why should I trust you?  I barely know you.”

“I’m Youngmin’s friend.  You should know him well enough to know what kind of company he prefers.  I’m not some creeper.  I promise not to kiss you.  Like I said, I’m just testing something.”

“What are you testing?”

“His reaction.”

“Whose reaction?”

“Just trust me that I won’t do anything bad to you,” he said.

His breath tickled my skin and I was immediately reminded of these kinds of moments with Youngmin.  Thinking of them, I blushed again.  “Promise?”  What was I saying?  Why was I agreeing with this?  I should push him off right now!  I should scream for help!  But here I was, actually thinking of possibly let him continue his experiment –whatever it was.

Jeongmin’s lips hovered by my ear.  “Prom-”

He never finished his word.  Suddenly, the boy was thrown off roughly, landing harshly on the ground.  My head whipped up to see Youngmin glaring down at his hyung.

“Ouch!” Jeongmin cried out indignantly.  “What was that for?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Youngmin countered with his own question, pulling me behind him as if to protect me.

“What did it look like?  Jin Haneul-ah and I were sharing a moment.”  That mischievous smile was back.

Youngmin’s face flushed with anger.  “Don’t touch her.”

“Why not?  It’s not like she’s yours.”

“Yah!” I interjected.  “I don’t belong to anyone!”

There weren’t many people left on the track, but the ones that were stared at us, wondering what the commotion was about.  I didn’t want to make this scene any bigger than it already was, so I picked up my bag and stalked off towards the locker rooms. 

I emerged after my shower, wearing a pair of worn skinny jeans, a graphic tee, and my favorite pair of keds.  My hair was still damp and the ends were curling.  I expected everyone to be gone since it was so late, but a familiar silhouette sat on the ground, leaning against the brick wall of the school.  Smiling, I made my way over.

I stopped in front of him, the fading light distorting our shadows.  He looked up at me, eyes wide.

“Annyeong,” I greeted.  “What are you still doing here?”

He scrambled up, standing in front of me awkwardly, his blonde bangs falling in his eyes.

“Waiting for you,” Youngmin said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wae?”

He almost looked hurt, but the look was so fleeting that I couldn’t be sure whether it had actually appeared or if it were just my imagination.  “I want to make sure no one steals you.”

“Wow.  Thank you for making me feel like an object for the second time today,” I teased.

“Okay, making sure no one kidnaps you,” he corrected, a small smile tugging at his lips.

I nodded, satisfied.  “That’s more like it.  Now, let’s go.”

We started down the street, walking side by side.  It was awkward for the first block or so, neither of us saying anything.  He seemed to be warring with himself, as if he wanted to say something but struggling to do so.

“So what happened between you and Jeongmin hyung?” he asked tentatively.

My heart jumped nervously.  What was I supposed to tell him?  The truth?  But something told me not to say anything about Jeongmin’s strange behavior.  I decided to go with a half-truth.  “I’m not sure I know myself,” I answered vaguely.  “One moment he was asking me what happened on Saturday and wondering if we were dating, and the next he had me against the wall.  It was all very confusing.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Huh?”

“What did you say when he asked you if we were dating?”

“I told him no, of course,” I said.  “What else would I tell him?  It’s not like we are dating.”

His expression was hard to read but then he smiled.  “Yeah, you’re right.”  He grabbed my hand, swinging it as we walked.

“Youngmin-oppa,” I started.

“Oh come on.  We aren’t in school anymore and no one is around.”

I remembered our deal and let out a quiet breath, secretly pleased.  Slyly, he interlocked our fingers and I looked over at him in surprise.  He grinned down at me, his warm brown eyes melting me.

“Don’t do that,” I whined.

“Aw, please?  I’m just holding your hand,” he pouted, making my heart beat faster.

“Not that,” I said.  “You’re eyes.  Don’t do that with your eyes.”

His eyebrows knitted in confusion.  “What am I doing with my eyes?”

“Never mind,” I mumbled, looking away.

He stopped, taking my face into his hands.  I registered we were in the outskirts of my neighborhood, not too far from my house.  Next to us was a small gap between two houses that created an alleyway that led to nowhere.

“Tell me,” he pouted cutely.  His dark eyes shone with the light of the orange sun disappearing over the horizon.  The light from the sun would be completely gone soon and I didn’t want Youngmin walking in the dark.

“Youngmin-oppa,” I said.  “It’s getting late.  We need to go so you don’t have to walk home in the dark.”

His pout intensified.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’m a strong boy; I can take care of myself.  Now, tell me what I’m doing with my eyes that you don’t want me to do.”

I rivaled his pout, stomping my foot childishly.  “It’s not fair!  You have such pretty eyes!”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“And you’re not stopping with that look.”

“What look is that?”

“The one you’re giving me.”

“What does it look like?”

“How am I supposed to explain that?”

He paused.  “Well, how am I supposed to stop when I don’t even know how I’m doing it?”

I thought about that.  “You got me there.”

He chuckled, kissing my forehead.  “You’re cute.”

I blushed, pushing myself free.  “Come on, we need to go!”  I started pulling him forward, gripping his arm with both of my hands.

He chuckled again, “Okay, you win this time.”  He took my hand again, leading me the rest of the way home.

I know, I know, you probably want to hit me for interrupting their kiss twice now. But I'm not there yet! Believe me, I have a special scene for their first kiss (that is, if they ever get that far...). I'm really excited :)

 Has anyone noticed a theme with my titles? Just wondering, cuz I thought it was very witty of me ;P

Anyway, thank you for your comments! They really make me happy and inspire me to write more! So, in equation form: comments + subcribers = happiness. Happiness = quicker update. So therefore, comments + subscribers = quicker update. Geez, I don't even like math! What am I doing making myself out to be a nerd?

@2yendis: yes, we shall work hard together! Fighting!

@soni_rose: you're not old.  I have an older sister who is a senior in college right now (she's 21) and she still acts like she's 15 (and if she ever found out I said that about her, she'd probably get revenge on me in some malicioius and humiliaing way...).

And I have an ulterior motive for updating today.  You see, today is my ultimate bais's birthday and I wanted to celebrate it.  HAPPY 19 BIRTHDAY SUNGJONG!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, I know what you're thinking. All of you fellow Inspirits out there probably know that his birthday is September 3 and I am updating this on September 2. Let me explain my madness. Because there is a 15 hour time difference between Seoul, South Korea and Idaho, USA, it is actually September 3 there right now and that is why I am updating today and not tomorrow. Aren't I smart?

That is all.  Have a good one!

PS: Comment!!!!