As the grand bell rang obnoxiously, I groggily stirred in my sleep. My eyes opened a crack only to squint shut when light harshly attacked. When I attempted to sit up, I felt something tight around my middle holding me down. Being as tired as I was, I decided that that was a sign to sleep longer. However, just as I was about to lose conscious again, the door to the room flew open and roughly banged against the wall.

            “What is going on here?” Onew exclaimed in shock. I craned my head forward to see him pointing anxiously between me and the space beside me. With squinted eyes, I turned to see it was Minho who was keeping me in place with his arms wrapped around my waist.  His eyelids fluttered open, revealing his big brown eyes that were glossed with fatigue. Minho sat up lazily and let out a yawn as he stretched.

            “What?” he called to Onew after finally giving the latter his attention. Onew scrunched his nose in annoyance when Minho never let go of me and instead pulled me to sit up with him. When I noticed the tense atmosphere forming between the two, I pushed my hands against Minho’s chest to make him release me. Minho, however, was still stronger than me and didn’t let up.

            “Why were you two sleeping together?” Onew asked through gritted teeth. I looked to my best friend to explain, but he was only focused on Minho.

            “Because we were tired,” Minho nonchalantly answered.

            “That doesn’t mean you can hold her like that!” Onew argued as he gestured between Minho and I.

            “She was cold,” Minho shrugged before pulling me closer. Onew took a threatening step closer, and Minho in turn released me. The latter got out of the bed and began to walk closer to Onew.

            “Stay away from my best friend,” Onew snarled as he tried to intimidate the boy. However, Minho didn’t seem too fazed since he easily towered over the older. I threw the blanket off of me and ran over to the two.

            “I don’t think you have the authority to boss me around,” Minho said blandly.

            “Why you,” Onew growled before stepping closer. I pushed my way between them and forced them apart. They both widened their eyes at my sudden presence.

            “Stop it, you two,” I commanded as I looked back and forth between Onew and Minho. “You are acting like children.”

            “Taeyeon,” Onew called softly as he grabbed my hand.

            “Minho, please forgive him for his poor behavior,” I politely bowed as I gestured to Onew. Onew let out a whimper which I ignored for the time being.

            “It’s fine,” Minho waved it off like it was nothing. His lips twitched upwards into a quick smile, and I instantly smiled back.

            “Now, if you will excuse us,” I bowed again before dragging Onew out of the room. As soon as the door shut, Onew began to splutter apologizes.

            “I’m sorry, Taeyeon. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything. You know I just really care about you, and-“

            “Onew,” I sighed softly as we rushed down the crowded hallway, “it’s fine. I mean, I understand you are just being protective towards me, but you seriously need to calm down.”

            “But Minho-“

            “-is my friend,” I finished for him sternly. “And therefore, you have nothing to worry about.” Onew opened his mouth something, but quickly closed it. I bit the bottom of my lip since I felt like I was being too harsh on Onew, but everything I said was true and I was going to stand by them. As a silent apology, I squeezed Onew’s hand softly and pulled him closer. He looked to me and smiled lightly before opening up his hands. With a swift move, he stepped in front of me to lead the way. I leaned casually onto him, resting my head upon his shoulder.

            “I’m sorry,” Onew whispered before we turned to the hallway my dorm was. I pulled our hands, which were tightly clasped together, to my lips and softly pecked the back of his hand. When I looked up, he was smiling as he opened the door. When the door clicked shut, Onew brought me into an embrace, carrying me one inch off the ground. He moved us over to my bed and gently flopped me onto his chest.

            “Tired,” I announced with a yawn, Onew’s shirt soon after. The latter didn’t even seem to mind. In fact, he tightly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me as close as possible.

            “Do you want to go to sleep then?” Onew asked softly as his right hand rubbed up my back. His fingers twirled the ends of my hair, playing carelessly with the strands. I nodded slowly before releasing another yawn. “Sleep then, my love.” I attempted to lift myself off of Onew to allow him to leave, but he held me down.

            “Don’t you have to leave?” I reminded him as I pushed on his chest again for emphasis.

            “But it’s my turn to cuddle with you,” he whined as he pouted cutely. I opened my mouth to argue, but another yawn came, bringing a wave of drowsiness along with it. Onew leaned over and laid a gentle kiss onto the top of my head. “Just sleep, Taeyeon.”

            “You have to get back to your dorm,” I shook my head childishly, continuing to argue despite my sleepy state. Onew shifted so I lay beside him, but his arms securely around me. I carefully placed my head upon his chest, cuddling into him happily. Onew nestled his head near mine to where his nose was against my hair. He pecked my forehead this time and began to hum a soft tune.

            “Sweet dreams,” he whispered into my ear just as I fell asleep.

-----

            “Madam, this is your second call,” a service girl announced from the hallway. I stirred lightly before allowing my eyelids to flutter open. In shock, my eyes widened when I saw Onew staring happily at me.

            “You look so cute and peaceful in your sleep,” he commented before kissing my nose. I blinked a few times to snap out of my daze. When I processed what was going on, I looked down at the space between Onew and me. I noticed he was wearing his school uniform, but it looked far neater than the one I saw him in yesterday night.

            “Did you change?” I asked, changing the subject. Onew nodded lazily.

            “I woke up an hour ago to run back to my dorm and change,” he explained as he ran his fingers through my hair. He smiled giddily while biting lightly on his bottom lip.

            “When did you get back?”                                      

            “Half an hour ago.”

            “And you’ve just been-“

            “-lying beside you, marveling at your beauty,” Onew laughed at his own cheesy comment. I rolled my eyes before pushing on his chest. He loosened his grip around me and allowed me to slither out of the bed.

            “Here, I’m going to go change, so you go ahead and take a nap,” I instructed before heading to my dresser. I quickly gathered my clothes and scurried to the bathroom. With a swift move, I stripped off Minho’s clothes and replaced it with my own. I carefully buttoned each button on my jacket before reopening the door. I instantly smiled when I saw Onew sound asleep, cuddled with the blankets. His bangs swept just above his eyes, and his lips were slightly apart. I unconsciously my lips at the sensual sight before walking over and lightly shaking the boy.

            “Hmm,” Onew hummed as he stretched his arms, groaning at the end. “Time to go already?”

            “Yeah, are you ready?”

            “Just give me a second,” he excused himself before pushing past me. He grabbed his shoes and quickly slipped them on. Once his feet were snuggly fit in the shoes, he skipped over to me and pulled be into an embrace. After swaying us back and forth a few times, he released me with a smile.

            “Done?” I asked, laughing softly at his actions. He hummed happily while nodding, grabbing my hand after. He turned to open the door and lead the way to the dining hall, dragging me along. Just as we arrived, people were flooding out the doors, heading to their designated classes. It was then that I realized I was woken up by a service girl yelling about my second call; that meant we only had thirty minutes to get dressed and eat breakfast. Seeing as it was already time for class, Onew and I changed our course for first period.

            When we entered the classroom, I noticed that Jonghyun and Key were already there, chatting idly. Jonghyun’s head shifted to face our direction, and he instantly jumped out of his chair when he and I made eye contact. I removed my hand from Onew’s and ran over to Jonghyun who immediately lifted me into a hug, allowing me to levitate an inch off the ground. He spun me around in a circle before setting me back down, nuzzling his face into my neck for a second.

            “I missed you,” he announced, pouting at the end. His bottom lips was jutted out while the corner of his lips were tilted up, giving him a cutesy look. I merely ignored it and pinched his puffed out cheeks.

            “Anyways,” Key rolled his eyes, “we got you some pastries since you didn’t show up.”

            “Oh, thanks so much, Key,” Onew smiled as he received the packaged goods from Key.

            “Wouldn’t want you to starve,” Key commented while lightly slapping Onew’s cheeks in a semi-affectionate way. The action itself wasn’t affectionate, but it was the gaze that they sent to each other that made it seem sensual. The bell rang once more, and Onew and I rushed over to our seats. We quickly opened the bags that contained the buns and happily indulged in them as the lesson for the day droned on. Towards the end of class, I noticed Onew scribbling on a piece of scrap paper feverishly. Soon, he slid the note over to me before looking in the opposite direction.

            ‘Could I ask what happened yesterday?’ I gnawed at my bottom lip after reading it in my mind. My hand reached into my bag for a notebook which I quickly pulled a piece of paper out of. I tapped the end of my pencil against my jaw line as I thought of a proper and simple way to explain what happened the day before.

            ‘A few guys were harassing Minho before I stepped in and ended up being drenched in water. Minho kindly took me to your dorm and gave me new clothes to wear.’ I read it over a few times before sliding it over to Onew when I was satisfied. Onew intently stared at the note, taking in all the words. He let out a sigh, one that almost seemed of relief, and started writing a reply.

            ‘Were you hurt?’

            ‘Not at all; just a little water.’

            ‘You need to be more careful next time. Why didn’t you ask for help?’ I turned to see Onew staring sternly at me, waiting for my response. I swallowed hard as I anticipated the reaction I would get after this note.

            ‘I tried, but you were asleep.’ Onew instantly tensed and gripped his pencil with such a force that it looked like it would break. His hand shook as he tried to write on the paper.

            ‘And you didn’t wake me?’

            ‘Key told me you woke up early, so I didn’t want to wake you! I was just worried you sleep enough, so I left you alone,’ I tried to reassure him. Onew’s eyes softened while his lips curved into a small smile. He hummed lightly as he wrote his note.

            ‘Fine, I’ll forgive you since you were thinking of me.’ He had added a little smiley face on the side to emphasis how happy he was. Furthermore, when I turned to my side, he was grinning happily in his seat. The bell rang boisterously, and everybody began to feverishly pack up their things. I stuffed my notebook into my bag as I stood from my seat when a thought occurred to me. After swiftly passing from behind Onew’s chair, I approached Jonghyun and Key’s table. Key was the first to notice my sudden appearance and gave me a questioning look.

            “What’s up, Taeyeon?” Key asked before glancing knowingly between Jonghyun and I. 

            “Is it alright if I talk to Jonghyun alone?” I requested politely with a smile. Onew appeared by my side around this time and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He took a glance at Key who nodded and lead them out the door.

            “Shall we go?” Jonghyun smiled sweetly as he stood from his seat. With his hand, he gestured to the door and bowed slightly. I took the sign and began to head out into the hallway.

            “Listen, Jonghyun,” I started as I turned to face him. He hummed softly to show I had his attention. “Please don’t bring up what happened yesterday.”

            “Why?”

            “Minho isn’t very comfortable talking about it, and-“

            “Oh really?” Jonghyun interrupted, shocked. “You should have told me earlier because I asked him about it this morning!”

            “You what?” I exclaimed.

            “I’m sorry; I didn’t know,” Jonghyun exasperated, groaning softly at the end. After sighing heavily, I shook my head.

            “Don’t worry, it’s fine. Just don’t bring it up, okay?” I reassured him, smiling kindly at the end. Jonghyun nodded feverishly, and soon the two of us walked into the dining hall. Key sent a worried glance, but I shook my head to tell him it was fine. Jonghyun took his seat beside the boy, smiling brightly to calm the latter’s nerves. I sat between Onew and Minho who already had a large amount of space separating them. A waiter rushed over to our table and took our orders before running off to the kitchen.

            “Minho, you are eating with us again today?” I questioned with an inquiring smile.

            “Is that okay?” he asked as his eyes widened. I laughed at his sudden worried state before shaking my head.

            “No, it’s perfectly fine,” I assured him as the waiter came back to drop off our dishes. After politely bowing, he left to go assist another table. We were taken by a sudden sweep of silence that left us all glancing at one another, waiting for somebody to make conversation. I attempted to speak, but Jonghyun beat me to it.

            “Um, so your name is Minho?” Jonghyun awkwardly asked as he tapped his fork against the plate. The collision created a rather annoying ping sound, but nobody really voiced their aggravation towards the action. Instead, they all stared at Minho who sat casually beside me. The tall boy was chewing intently on his clam linguini when Jonghyun asked him the question and looked up with a full mouth. He quickly his lips that were painted with the creamy white wine sauce before chewing like there was no tomorrow. After swallowing hard, he tried his best to smile presentably.

            “That is right. You are… Key?” Minho tried to recall. The look in his eyes displayed how much he hoped he was right, but the rest of us minus Jonghyun sighed since he was wrong.

            “Actually, I’m Jonghyun. This is Key,” he smiled as he gestured between himself and the diva beside him. Jonghyun acted friendly and gentle when he talked to Minho as if he was really sympathetic towards the boy.

            “Sorry, I’m not really good at remembering names anymore. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to this many people,” Minho remorsefully apologized before letting out a strangled laugh. It was obvious he was really hurt after being isolated.

            “You really don’t have to worry about it,” Jonghyun shook his head and hands intensely to calm Minho’s nerves.

            “Thanks, Jong…” Minho slowly said, trying to recall the boy’s name again.

            “Jonghyun. Don’t worry,” Jonghyun laughed to seem more approachable. “You’ll get it eventually.” After experiencing Jonghyun’s bubbly and kind personality, Minho smiled happily in response.

            “Tell us about yourself, Minho,” Key asked, deciding to join in the conversation.

          “Well, I’m just a generally athletic guy, I guess. I play for the school’s soccer team and run on the track team,” Minho shrugged like it was no big deal. Key scoffed at Minho’s snarky attitude.

            “That’s really cool. I was interested in trying out for the soccer team, but I didn’t have the courage,” Jonghyun admitted, laughing at the end. Minho seemed pleased with the conversation and fond of Jonghyun. I couldn’t help but giggle at their blooming friendship. Just as the conversation was getting good, the bell rang, announcing that lunch was over. A few servants rushed to our table and gathered the dirty dishes. We all stood from our seats and began to walk to the door when Key suddenly yelled about a poster. Sure enough, one was neatly plastered on the wall just by the exit.

            Key was standing in front of it, reading the words intently as we crowded around him. I stood behind the slightly taller boy, eyeing the poster over his shoulder as Onew and Minho stood by my sides. Jonghyun, although he was the shortest, was behind me, gripping my shoulders while standing on his tippy toes.

“’The Ball: a classy evening social’” Onew read the title aloud.

            “’Admission is free, and therefore all students must attend,’” Minho continued, groaning slightly at the end.

            “’Proper attire is required; lovely gowns for the women, and classy suits for the gents,’” I announced, nodding as I took in the information.

            “’Masks and d-dates are optional,’” Jonghyun finished, coughing at the end. Onew took a step back and grabbed my hand, firmly gripping it. I felt Jonghyun’s hold on my shoulders tighten while Minho wrapped an arm around my waist. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as my heart began to race. What is going on here?

-----

            Author’s note: I am seriously a disappointment of an author. This chapter was ty even after writing six drafts, and I took forever to get it done and published. I apologize for my horrendous thing I call a chapter. I added some OnTae fluff as promised since Onew was completely absent during the last chapter. :) I also threw in some JongTae moments haha. Mostly because of all of this:

            Oh furthermore, there is going to be a ball soon. I’m honestly very excited about it because the idea that basically started this whole story :D There is sure to be mountains of drama and whatnot. Hopefully you guys enjoy it!

            Oh shoot, before I forget! I got my new dog :) I’m sorry to say that I named him Bacon despite the fact that Jjong won. But here is a picture of him :) Since you guys voted, I wanted you to be the first to see. What do you think of him? Cute right?

Thanks again, lovely subscribers. <3 Until next time

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@SadisticSinner - Onew finding them in that position actually wasn't as dramatic as I thought. I imagined somebody getting their kicked, but I thought that'd be too much and very unclassy and un-high end since they are all rich :P Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter~ Sorry for this crappy one TT_TT

@Z09Z09 - There are so many other stories that you have yet to hear about! :D Wait patiently for them, dear haha. OnTae is so fluffy and cute in this fanfic; I don't know why haha. But I'm glad you like it :D How was this update?

@darkangel265 - Hmm, I am beginning to wonder when I'll make Taemin spill everything. Maybe soon, maybe far in the future :P I'm so evil mwahhaha. >:) ooohhh, I finally found a 2min shipper in the comments :) hello there, dear

@xaria2729 - OH MY GOD, YOU CRIED? This sounds horrible of me to say, but YESSSSSSS! It feels so fulfilling to know that I wrote it with enough emotion and feelings to touch your heart string and make you cry. :) Sorry, dear, but thank you so much for your tears. They didn't go to waste! :D I LOVE YOU <3

@SHINeeLove05 - Aww, I'm so glad you love it <3 I'm trying really hard to update faster, but the dreaded writer's block has been plagueing me TT_TT Sorry, my love

@maxjibong - Sorry for being away for so long TT_TT The ideas are in my head, but they won't write!!! Don't worry though. I'll try harder for you guys :) I'm seriously so glad you like me story though :D I hope this update wasn't too bad. 

@Emmauk26 - So I didn't make Onew pull away from Taemin, just for you ;) They are still happily friends haha. I'm actually very anxious to hear your theory. Please send it to my inbox!!! :D I beg of you, please <3 Oh, and here is your OnTae fluff as promised :) Hope you enjoyed

THANK YOU ALL FOR THE LOVELY COMMENTS <3