Chapter Two ~ Familiar Faces, New Beginnings
Fix Me, Break Me, Leave Me
They were not used to seeing so many people being around. There were people every where. There were returning students sat in groups on the grass outside, nervous first years stumbling around aimlessly, couples relaxing and friends greeting each other after a summer spent apart, then amidst it all, were Jongwoon and Donghae, smiling shyly, walking in sync, shoulders touching. They headed towards the reception area to get their schedules.
"I'm so nervous" Jongwoon whispered.
"Don't worry you'll be fine" Donghae said, giving him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.
"But.. What if people don't like me, like before... At school?" he worried, insecurities getting the better of him.
Donghae stopped walking and turned his friend around to face him.
"They will like you. No, they will love you. If they don't, then they don't deserve you anyway. Okay? Now put the smile back on that turtle face of yours!" he told him pinching his cheek, to which Jongwoon slapped him away immediately.
Donghae smiled and ruffled his hair, Jongwoon scowled at him, but sighed in defeat as they headed through the doors towards the desk. After giving their names, listening to the receptionist drawl on about a bunch of things that neither absorbed fully. They were sent away, with a schedule and map in hand.
"Did you have a clue what she was talking about?" Donghae asked, hoping that Jongwoon may have understood more than him.
But he hadn't. Jongwoon shook his head.
"All I caught was block A and C, and that we wouldn't need to go near block B" he said.
Donghae took Jongwoon's schedule out of his hands and studied it with his own, looking back and forth the two sheets of paper.
"Looks like I'm in block A, the sports department and you're in block C" he concluded, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
They'd both known that they wouldn't be in classes together, after choosing to study different subjects. Donghae was taking sports studies and Jongwoon had chosen business studies. There was no surprise to being in different sections of the college but it made them sad all the same. At least they could spend lunch and break times with each other and walk to and from classes and college together, that was better than nothing, better than they had before. So they were content with the situation.
Jongwoon looked at his map, it made absolutely no sense to him at all. He spotted a large building labeled block C, it took him a while to find the reception area on the map. He then began to look for the best route there. He'd traced a little of the route with his finger, before Donghae grabbed the map out of his hand.
Jongwoon looked up, ready to give his best friend a glare, when he found him struggling with all the sheets of paper in his hand, attempting to retreive something from his backpack, Donghae pulled out a bright red pen, resting it in his mouth whilst he zipped his backback up again, trying not to drop anything. Jongwoon couldn't help but smile at the site, Donghae could be extremely cute on times. Succeeding in not dropping anything, Donghae gave Jongwoon his brightest smile before turning him around to use his back as a table of sorts, resting the map on him as he started to draw across the paper. Jongwoon knew Donghae's tongue would be sticking out slightly as he concentrated. The pen moving across his back tickled and he shivered slightly, causing Donghae to make a mistake.
"Hey, keep still!" Donghae complained.
Jongwoon just giggled as the pen carried on tickling his back.
Once Donghae happily declared that he was done, Jongwoon turned to face him.
On his map Donghae had drawn a clear route to block C for him, he was thankful, he really was terrible at directions and map reading. He noticed the little picture Donghae had also drawn of the two of them stood on a patch of grass outside, this made him smile again.
"Okay, now get going or you'll be late! I'll meet you outside your classroom as soon as my class ends okay? Don't miss me too much" Donghae promised him, smirking at the end of his sentence.
"Oh shh! I won't miss you at all Hae!" Jongwoon scoffed, hitting his arm playfully.
Donghae smiled but noticed that Jongwoon was fiddling with his thumbs.
"Come on, you'll be late" He said again.
"I, uhh, don't understand the route you drew" Jongwoon mumbled.
Donghae went over the map and route with him again, yet Jongwoon didn't move to leave even then.
"Jongwoonie.. Please don't worry okay. You'll be fine. I know you're going to have a great time and make loads of new friends, you'd better not forget about me though! And I'll always be here, no matter what okay. So there's nothing to worry about, I'll meet you outside your class after lessons, okay? Now get running or you'll be in trouble before your first lesson!" Donghae assured him.
He didn't sound patronising, as it may have sounded coming from anyone else. Jongwoon knew that Donghae always had his best interests at heart and that he would always give him strength and support him. He gave Donghae a small hug, lingering for a second longer than usual, before setting off down the opposite corridor to him, looking back once or twice as he left.
Jongwoon had been walking for a few minutes when he arrived at block C, it was huge, he counted roughly five floors. As he entered the building he realised that although Donghae had given him directions to block C, he still didn't know his way around block C. He sighed as he squinted at the map closer, trying to find the classroom he should be in.
A few more minutes later, a slightly out of breathe Jongwoon was standing on the the fourth floor stairs, after walking up and down to different levels trying to find his classroom, with no such luck. The corridors were confusing, the classroom numbers weren't in order and there was no straight hallway, just different connecting corridors. Jongwoon didn't know why they couldn't have just built a more simple design, but architecture became the last thing on his mind as he looked to his watch, he was nearly ten minutes late.
He heard a soft chuckle behind him.
He turned around, his breathing still a little uneven.
Standing above him on the staircase was another boy, he looked around his age, maybe a little older. His hair was black and kind of long, his eyes gave off a dangerous aura, yet his facial features were so pretty. He had a smirk plastered across his face and his hands stuck in his pockets.
"Lost are we?" The boy gloated.
"Uhh, yes. I'm trying to find room 305.. Do you, uhh, know where that is please?" Jongwoon asked nervously, looking to the ground slightly.
The other boy sighed and began to walk down the stairs.
"Lucky for you I do, come on I'll take you there" He said.
He didn't sound very friendly, Jongwoon thought, but it wasn't like he had any other options, he would never get to class at this rate. So he followed the other boy as he walked lazily into another corridor.
Neither of them spoke whilst they walked, but Jongwoon could swear he heard a quiet, amused chuckle come from the boy and he was definitely sure he saw a smirk on his face. They walked for a few minutes, going through doors until the boy stopped and smiled, pointing to his left.
"It's just down there, at the end. It's the very last door. Try not to get lost again, I may not always be around to save you" The boy winked mischeivously.
Jongwoon nodded and thanked him, then he was gone. Before Jongwoon started heading towards his classroom, he noticed something on the floor, it was a wallet.
He picked it up and opened the front, revealing an ID, the name read Kim Heechul and next to it, was a photo of the mysterious boy Jongwoon had just met.
He figured he would just hand it in to reception and they could take it from there, he would have chased after the Heechul boy right then but he knew he'd never find his way back and he was already extremely late for his first lesson. So he headed towards the room Heechul had given him directions to.
He got to the door and noticed that the number did not say 305, but 207. Maybe the numbers had changed, he sighed, before knocking and walking in.
What he saw was definitely not the business studies class he'd enrolled on. Instead there was a rather dark room, with a table in the middle and a few chairs dotted around it. There was a giant screen at the front of the class and movie posters plastered across the walls, not leaving even an inch uncovered. He took in the view, it was interesting.
"Yes? What is it?" A dark haired women, he assumed was the teacher asked.
"Oh I'm sorry. I'm looking for room 305.. I was given directions here, but it seems they weren't correct. Maybe he heard me incorrectly" Jongwoon explained, apologsing.
The dark haired teacher removed the pen she was chewing from and leant forward on the table.
"Don't tell me, Kim Heechul?" She asked, looking slightly bored.
"Uh, yes, how did you know?" Jongwoon replied.
"Who wouldn't know. He causes mayhem around the entire college, if he gives you directions, I'd head straight in the opposite way. God only knows how he's still got a place on his course after last year, but oh well. I'm not the principal, I can't throw him out. As much as I wish I could. But anyway, room 305 is a floor above, I can send one of my students with you if you would like?" The teacher complained, then realising she'd drawned on slightly.
"No, it's okay, thank you very much though. I will find it" Jongwoon thanked her, he didn't want to cause anyone any hassle.
He was about to walk back out of the door when he noticed a blonde boy raising his hand.
"I'll take him, it won't be a problem" The boy offered, giving Jongwoon a friendly smile, revealing a distinct dimple on his cheek.
Jongwoon nodded thankfully and followed the boy into the hallway. He had a friendly vibe about him and started chatting to Jongwoon about how he his day was going, he revealed that he was in his second year, studying film and production. Jongwoon thought it sounded very interesting and listened to everything he had to say.
"My names Park Jungsu, but everyone calls me Leeteuk, so call me that" He smiled, leading him to a door marked 305.
"Just ignore Heechul, he terrorizes everyone, I don't think he really means it, he just gets bored and likes to play around. But anytime you need any help or advice, just come along to the film room and I'll be there" He continued, before waving goodbye and heading off back to his own class.
Jongwoon sighed with relief, firstly because he now knew that there actually were decent people at this college, not like that idiot Heechul who'd gotten him lost on his first day when he'd done nothing at all to him and secondly because he'd finally arrived at his classroom, nearly forty five minutes late.
Jongwoon nervously walked through the door into the class, there were around 20 students already sat around desks, copying something from the board in front of them. The teacher looked up questioningly, he explained his unfortunate incident and apologized.
"Don't let it become a habit" She said sternly, before smiling warmly, making Jongwoon feel slightly more at ease.
She pointed to an empty seat near the back and as Jongwoon walked towards it, he noticed two familiar faces.
"Ryeowook! Henry?! What are you doing here?" He questioned, surprise in his voice, as he took his seat.
As confused as he was at them being there, he was slightly more relaxed being in their company again. Ryeowook and Henry had been in Jongwoon's previous school, but Henry was in the year below him and Ryeowook. They were both very friendly and had made friends with Jongwoon after they'd all been victims of the same bullies. They kept Jongwoon company during the lonely school days spent apart from Donghae. Henry was Chinese, but had been brought up in Canada. He'd tried many times to teach Jongwoon English, with some pretty hilarious results most of the time. Despite being the youngest of the three, Henry would always try to protect Jongwoon and Ryeowook from bullies or anything else that affected them. But they all knew that he was just as sensitive as they were. Ryeowook seemed like a shy and quiet kid in public, but when it was just them, he would come right out of his shell and was rather adorable, Jongwoon had realised. So they would stick together as a three. Keeping to themselves mostly, baring through the hard times together.
Jongwoon hadn't expected to see them here, especially Henry since he was younger and wasn't supposed to have even graduated yet.
"Well, you always knew how much of a genius I was.. I managed to graduate a year early" Henry grinned as he explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jongwoon whispered, pouting.
"He wasn't allowed to tell anyone until his place was confirmed here. He didn't even tell me" Ryeowook stated, not looking up from what he was writing, but giving Henry a slight nudge with his elbow.
The younger poked his tongue out in return.
"And what about you Wook? You never said anything about coming here either?" Jongwoon questioned his other friend.
"Well, I wasn't. But, uh, when Henry told me he was coming here, I..." Ryeowook started, he seemed a little shyer now.
"He couldn't bear to be away from me, so he applied here too!" Henry finished, earning a slight glare from Ryeowook before he returned to his writing.
Jongwoon laughed, he hadn't expected to see them and had felt a little disappointed in not knowing they would be studying here, they were his friends after all. But that was soon washed away by the relief of having two people he knew in his class and those two people were his friends, Jongwoon felt much happier than he had done a few minutes ago.
"I'm glad you're both here anyway" He told them as the teacher began to speak again.
"Okay, now I want you all to take it in turns to stand up and tell everyone your name, then tell the class something about yourself" The teacher instructed, as if they were children.
Jongwoon got nervous, he hated speaking in public, even if it was just in front of a classroom of students. His palms began to sweat instantly. As students began talking, Jongwoon barely listened, he was too busy running things to say through his head..
'Hi, I'm Jongwoon and I need a haircut'
No, no, he thought, what a stupid thing to say.
'Hi, I'm Jongwoon and I love to sing, even though I think my voice isn't good'
No, he'd never say that, he didn't even know why he'd thought of that.
His turn finally came and he stood up, feeling everyone's gaze on him.
"Hi, I'm Kim Jongwoon and I have a pet turtle" He said, smiling shyly and returning to his seat almost instantly.
The class laughed a little, but it wasn't a cold harsh laugh, more of an accepting kind of laugh. They then moved their attentions on to the next student.
A few minutes later, a tall boy with light brown, slightly messy hair, stood up to introduce himself.
"My names Cho Kyuhyun and last week my dad bought me the new Audi" He announced proudly, or maybe smugly Jongwoon thought.
Murmurs of impressed students were heard throughout the class.
"What's it like to drive?" One boy shouted.
Kyuhyun shrugged.
"Don't know, I don't actually drive it. I don't have a license" He replied, before sitting down again and taking out his phone, clicking away boredly, as if no one was watching him at that moment.
Jongwoon turned to Henry who was rolling his eyes.
"Another rich kid who's parents just throw their money about then" The younger declared, Jongwoon nodded slightly, agreeing.
"You don't know that Henry, don't be so quick to judge" Ryeowook said calmly.
"Yeah you say that, but I bet he goes home to his giant cinema room, inside his bedroom, which is inside his swimming pool with his own personal butler named Jeeves, who has a cat named Jeeves and.." Henry began to rant.
"Henry! That doesn't even make sense! We don't know him, so we can't judge him" Ryeowook expressed, shaking his head at Henry's comment, but he couldn't help but smile at his silliness.
Jongwoon turned around to look at the topic of their conversation. The two people sat next to him were trying to make conversation about something, probably questioning the speed or engine size of his new car, but he was simply nodding every few seconds, not taking his eyes of the game he was playing on his phone. He was clearly not intrigued by his fellow classmates at all. Kyuhyun must have felt eyes on him because at that moment he looked up, locking eye contact with Jongwoon. His face remained expressionless and relaxed for a slight second, before developing into what could only be described as a scowl. Jongwoon turned around abruptly in his seat, deciding that this was one friend he would not be making in this class.
On the other side of campus, in the sports department. Donghae's heart was racing. But they hadn't exercised at all, in fact they weren't even in the sports hall, but in a classroom, listening to the normal boring first lesson introductions, they'd even been given name tags, like school kids. But this lesson wasn't boring, not even in the slightest. In fact, Donghae thought it may be his favorite class ever, because sat across the table from him was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen. He had bleach blonde hair and had given a huge gummy smile when he'd introduced himself, which had melted Donghae. He couldn't help but stare at the boy throughout the whole lesson, he was mezmorised.
The boys name tag read 'Lee Hyukjae'
A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating this fic, the servers were down when I wanted to update, then when I finally did (or at least tried to), it didn't work. Plus, I've been ill recently so haven't been able to update any of my fics at all. But I'm back now ^^ Again, I'll say that this story takes building up. There's lots of different aspects to it. This chapter has quite a few character introductions, they are quite brief, but a few of the characters here have bigger, vital and important parts of the story. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it a little, this chapters kind of boring. But it'll get much more exciting, I promise! Thank you for reading! ♥♥
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