“So? How was it?” Hanbyeol asks as she wiggles her brows at me.

“How was what?” I say, trying my best to pretend like I don’t know what she’s talking about. I don’t want to talk about it. No. I don’t know what there’s to talk to about. Somehow, I don’t think saying “Kris knows I like him so he left me and I cried and ran to the washroom so I don’t have to face you guys while I’m wailing” would sound so good. Wait. I didn’t wail, so scratch that part.

“You know what she’s talking about. Don’t act dumb.” Haewon interrupted. I’m sitting next to Chaehwa and Hanbyeol’s on my right with Haewon on her right. We’re in the middle of English and we’re whispering to each other.

“I’m not acting dumb. I really don’t know what you guys are talking about so just focus before the teacher-“

“Miss Lee. May I ask are you by any chance experiencing some difficulties with my lesson? Am I going too fast for you?” she asks but I know she doesn’t really mean it. She’s just poking around to make me feel nervous and all.  I glance to Hanbyeol and she’s got her head in her book. Gee, thanks a lot for sticking up for me.

“No ma’am.” I answer with a strained voice.

“Then why were you talking during my lesson?” I hate this question. I just want to answer, “Gee, I don’t know, maybe because I have a mouth and I can produce sounds and you are nobody to restrict my talking privileges”, but that would be too rude and I can’t say it no matter how much I want to. You see, I don’t like Mrs. Puff. I hate her too-high-and-mighty-for-silly-noisy-school-kids British accent and her hair and the clothes she wears and everything! I just hate everything about her. I’m sure I wouldn’t mind if someone else was sporting her hairstyle and skirt but it’s her. She’s wearing it. So I hate it.

I’m sure my face is turning red with fury because Haewon stands up and takes the blame. “It’s my fault Mrs. Puff. I started it.” Haewon’s a really good impersonator. She can fake any accent you could name. So she uses her British accent to up to Mrs. Puff and maybe that would make our punishment lighter. Instead of carrying heavy water-full buckets on our heads, she might opt for us to crab-walk in the hallway. Although for me, it doesn’t change anything. Humiliation is what it is.

“Oh, no. It’s not your fault darling. I didn’t see you talking at all. So stop trying to defend your petty little friend over here. She’s the one who was going against the rules. You can sit down now dear.”  Oh God. I can’t resist not rolling my eyes. I don’t care if it seems rude. What’s rude is calling me petty and clearly picking sides. She favors Haewon because she talks in a British accent. How stupid is that?

“But I talked to her in the first place. She was just trying to tell me to be quite and focus on your lesson.” And now she’s lying. Hanbyeol’s the one who initiated it but she’s nerve-wrecking-ly biting her nails. I can’t really blame her. She can’t think well under pressure.

“Oh really now?” the witch sounds again. “Is that what happened?”

“Yes ma’am.” Haewon puts on her best guilty face.

“Well then. Never mind. Let’s just get on with our lesson before we run out of time.” She turns her back to us and starts writing something on the blackboard.

Okay. I try to recompose of myself through gritted teeth. I don’t think I can hold it in.  That witch was already planning for me to go around the school carrying a bucket of water over my head just because I was talking in her class and she just waved off Haewon for doing the same thing because she talks with a British accent. I wish I could jump on her and pull out her hair from its greasy scalp.

“Haemi” whispers Haewon, “meet me outside after class.”

I ‘m too in a bad mood to be nice so I didn’t respond, instead I looked to the front, pretending to be concentrating on the stupid writings at the front. What is she talking about anyway? We always meet after class ends. EACH class. So why does she need to tell me?

I express my anger through doodling Mrs. Puff and then stabbing her with my pencil and then scrunching up that paper and start doodling all over again with a new killing method for the rest of the class. I’m not violent all the time, don’t get me wrong. My killer instincts appear only when I feel really unjustified and when my mood is lower than the sea level.

And when the bell rings, I could just get out of this crappy place and get my life back.

“Haemi.” Haewon calls over me as I try to slip away by walking fast. “Haemi!” She calls again and catches up with me at the hallway. She grabs my hand and pulls me to a halt. “Are you okay? You seem really out of it.”

“I’m fine.” I feel like yanking her hand off of mine but I can’t possibly do that. She is my best friend, after all.

“No, you’re not.” She lets go and softens her tone. “Look, I’m sorry alright. Hanbyeol’s really sorry too. I don’t know what happened between you and Kris” -hearing his name causes thousands of knives to stab my chest- “ but now I know it’s not something good. And I’m sorry we made you tell about it because it was obvious you didn’t want to.”

Hearing something so sincere softens me a little. Haewon always knows what to do and that’s why she’s the mom. “No, it’s okay.”

“I knew he was a jerk. He’d better wish he don’t run into me, because if he does, Imma snap him like twigs, crack him like nuts and pop him like pods. And then we’ll have some Kris O’s for breakfast. Mmm mmm.”  I just have to laugh at that. How can I not? She’s using her hillbilly talk.

“Now that’s better.” She says when I’m done laughing. “But hey, you know you could tell us everything right?”

I give a small nod and just in time, Chaehwa, Shira and Mia come running at us.

“Here, Haemi.” Shira hands me a chocolate bar as she’s panting “The emergency Cadbury’s Black Forest mini chocolate bar.”

Someone must’ve told them about my plunging mood so they ran to the cafeteria and bought it for me. They know that a chocolate bar could make me feel better –particularly Black Forest.

And made me feel better it did. No matter how bad the day went, at the end of it, I’ll be surrounded by my friends and they know just how to cheer me up.

We hang around in the school yard just talking about silly stuff and being kids. I crack up whenever Haewon puts on her British act. We’re all tuning in to her Queen act when suddenly Kris and his friends pass by us.

Kris leads the pack, as always, and he’s looking at me, through those intense eyes, almost like he’s glaring, but I know him enough to know that that is how he usually looks at people. But still, it makes me feel just as bad and all the effort my friends put to cheer me up falter.

I go home and as soon as I do, I run up the stairs, lock my door and throw myself on the bed.  I think about what has happened today - The Kris. The encounter with Gila. English. My friends. And chocolate.

~~~

I was reading a thriller novel when I got that call. Hanbyeol asked if I could go out tonight, to blow off some steam with the others. It is a Friday night, after all. I was only ten pages away from the end of the super suspending book, so I contemplated a little bit. And I was already making myself comfy under the fluffy blanket in bed. Hanbyeol said that we were going to spot some cute boys. Usually, I would topple over that line but I didn’t feel like boy-watching. Then again, I would be such a party pooper if I refuse to go. I could also use some fresh and fun air.

So here I am in a bowling alley with my best kids.

I at bowling. But everyone else is ier – well, almost everyone.

“Oh, yeah! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!” Mia punches her fist in the air and does her own little victory dance and walks towards us. “Did you guys see what I did there? I was awwwesome.” She exclaims as she hits a strike for the third time tonight. Self-appreciation was never a problem for her.

“Pfft. I can do better than that. That was just luck, little girl.” Ika brags. She’s in a position to brag - she’s currently in first place.

“You guys siddown. Let me show you how the pros do it.” Chaehwa cuts them off.

All of us watch her as she shakes some talcum powder – courtesy of Shira – onto her hand. She slides her fingers in the ball and walks ‘professionally’ (according to Chaehwa; holding the ball close to the mouth and walking one step at a time) towards the runway. She aims the ball to roll in the middle of the lane.

“Any minute now.” Ika pipes from beside me. I try to resist a laugh and lightly hit her thigh. Chaehwa ignores her.

She takes a couple minutes to get her focus back on track again. She takes a deep breath. She slowly swings her ball back. She swings the ball forward. She releases the ball. She shoots! She scores! Right in the gutter!

Our small crowd explodes in laughter. Chaehwa hangs her head, probably thinking of how to hide her shame.  Ika wipes her teary eyes, clutching her stomach, trying to stop laughing before she falls to the ground. Everyone is laughing all too hard, including me.

“I meant to do that.” Chaehwa says as she sits down next to me, purposely avoiding Ika.

“Of course you did.” Ika laughs again.

~~~

“I’ll be back with your orders, ladies” the cute waiter winks and leaves us. We’re in a café near the bowling alley. We needed some food and drink to recharge after an exciting game. Ika, expectedly won the game and I, unsurprisingly was in last place.

“Oooh, someone’s got an admirer.” Hanbyeol pokes Haewon’s side as she wiggles her eyebrows.

“He’s cute. I approve!” Mia says convincingly to Haewon.

“Guys, he’s not into me. Wasn’t it obvious? He was totally eyeing Chaehwa.” Haewon casually speaks.

“Oh my God, don’t you even.” Chaehwa speaks up. “Can you believe this girl?” She says while looking at me. “That boy was all eyes on her and she’s all ‘oh no I’m a peasant, someone cute will never like me’. And the nerve she has to push the love to me. Puh-lease.”

“Hey! I never said that.” Haewon defends.

“He’s not so bad. He’s got his eyes on you. Just enjoy the attention while it lasts, Mom.” I say to her.  A shy smile forms on her face. I swear, sometimes, Haewon acts like she’s a single mother, working hard to support seven little kids, and any form of fun is not allowed.  

The cute waiter comes back with Shira’s and Mia’s drinks. I catch a glimpse of his nametag. ‘Suho’. Nice name. Guardian. He sure looks like an angel. What with that dazzling smile and beautiful pair of eyes. His face is practically shining. I wonder what his mom fed him and how he lived his childhood life.

My eyes avert to the front door, and I see some familiar faces. One by one, the boys walk in. Kai. Luhan.  Xiu Min. Baekhyun. Tao. I nudge Ika and she looks towards the door too. The guys are a part of Kris’s posse, so it was only natural expecting Kris and Chen to show up, but they’re not there.

There is an empty table next to ours and the boys are walking towards it. They don’t seem to notice us at all, acting all gangsta-like and putting on smug faces like they own the place.

“Hey, sandwich boy.” Xiu Min calls to Suho who’s walking by their table. Rude. Suho raises his eyebrows in confusion.  “Take our orders. That’s what you do, right?” Some sneers are heard coming from the table. I don’t know what’s so funny.

“Yeah, tell your mama to make some sandwiches for us.” Luhan orders. “And tell her to lay off the fatty meat. She could use some little pounds less.” Roars of laughter escape from their mouths. What the? What are they going on about? Making ‘mama’ jokes like that. I give a look to Ika and she has the same expression as mine on her face.

“Come on guys. Stop it.” Baekhyun voices. Finally, someone decent in this group. “He looks like he’s gonna cry.” Baekhyun continues and breaks into laughter along the others. “Why don’t you go run to your mommy?” I take it back. This table is full of morons.

I could just get up and smack these morons on the head but I doubt that’ll help with Suho’s pride. He should stand up for himself. I hate to say this, but he really does look like he’s about to cry. I can’t watch.

“What about drinks?” He says. He takes everything so seriously.

They name their drinks while slipping some stupid jokes which I’m sure no one finds funny. “Your orders are coming up.” Suho says quietly and heads to the kitchen.

I feel sick. The boys talk so loudly I’m sure people four tables away can hear them, let alone us, the table right next to them. I try to block out whatever they’re saying. They’re checking out some waitress and I feel even more sick. The words that come out of their mouths…

When they mention Kris’s name, my ears automatically perk up.

“Man, I’m so tired of him. I don’t think I can stand him any longer.” Tao says. “He’s getting more unbearable each day. You know when he asked me to give him and Chen a ride to school, I almost puked. I did it anyway. I regret it though.” I can’t believe it. All this while, I thought Tao was one of the closest people with Kris. I thought he’s okay. What a traitor.

Wait, did he say him and Chen? What’s that about?

“Yeah, I can’t watch them like that anymore. They look so pathetic, I feel sick. Why don’t they ask for help already?” Xiumin says. What help?

“Not ours though.” Kai says and the table sneers again.

“They could just move to a cheaper town, cheaper school, and damn it! Kris should stop with his act. He’s not our leader anymore. Him and Chen should stop wearing those kinds of clothes. Why not sell it and use the money for a decent house?” Baekhyun explains. What is he talking about? Did he mention Kris and Chen moving? Kris and Chen live together? What is this?

“Yeah. Their house looks like , man.” Luhan speaks up.  “Their parents should’ve left them with a better house before they died.”

What the heck did I just hear?

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A/N: God! How long have I been leaving this fic in the dark? I’m so sorry but I am absolutely positive that no one looks forward to it, so, meh. Yeah, I just had this urge to continue this story. So yeah, this is what you get. OTL. Kris barely made an appearance but hey, Suho,  Xiu Min, Baekhyun, Luhan, Tao and Kai did.

Thank you so much for reading it all the way down here. I know a lot of people would probably stop reading until the first scene because it was boring and no boys were there. Nevertheless, I enjoyed writing it because of my friendship feels. So props to you for making it all the way down here.

I will now shower you with pictures and gifs of the ultimate life ruiners, EXO! (actually just the boys who appeared in this chapter)

^^^^ this is suho when he was taking orders for the girls (sorta) yeah, sunshine

vvvvvvvv these are the bad boys

  <--- oh you can just ignore sehun there

i know, asdfghjkkl

^^^^ this is just compulsary

^^^^ this is the boys laughing at suho. and please ignore suho there

^^^^ these are suho when the boys

^^^ i don't know in which part does this picture apply to but baekhyun looks cute and there's tao. so yeah.

(pictures aren't mine. had to re-upload on facebook cuz couldn't find real link OTL)

I wanted to add some gifs too, but I can't find the URLs. I've already picked the right ones ;__; and I can't save them on facebook. Sorry guys. Sorry for the lack of Xiu Min and Luhan. Sorry for the y 'pictures to help imagine scene' and their layouts. it's almost 2 a.m and my head is already blurry. 

Sorry for my non-exotic friends who are reading this and had to put up with all the exo feels and pointless pictures. you know who you guys are. And really sorry if the language was too rough for you.

Thank you again. I mean it. I really mean it. I know this story is no fun at all and I'm just writing stupid things that most of you probably don't understand, so yeah. THANK YOU READERS! AND YOU 13 SUBSCRIBERS! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! THANK YOU! If I have some confetti, I'd throw them to you. 

Here, I'll give you rainbows instead. *goes search for rainbows* sorry guys, no rainbows either. OTL

I'll give you Chen's jawline. Kol?

(source: http://tao-oppa.tumblr.com/)

and for the non-exotics,

umm..ummm..umm..

everybody loves kitties right? right? wait!

please...

OTL sekian, terima kasih.

oh wait, more. If you're wondering about the main image. it symbolizes friendship. lol idek. okay now, bye. 

oh wait, more. i forgot. since i am really tired, i'll skip the formalities (thus the lack of caps).

criticize me. it'll help me in becoming a better writer. give your opinions, it'll help me shed some light on what's going to happen next. enlighten me. OTL okay, thanks, bye. THANK YOU! REMEMBER. I. MEAN. IT. (what a messy update ;__;)