The sketches in your book become a little messier, a little more scrawled than precise, a little less cared for. As the final exams near, you have less and less time to draw as you need more time to study. The exams come in two weeks, and you’re only prepared for half of them. With school on the line, you’ve put all boys, girls, and activities out of your mind. Other than exercising around during gym class to release the stress pent up from your studies, you don’t allow yourself distractions or breaks.

It’s been several months since your birthday party, and since then, you’ve been taking Lay to school on your new scooter at least once a week. Other times, the two of you just take the subway since it’s cheaper, and you get a little more quality time together. After you had watched his DVD, you couldn’t contain how amazed you were at his skill. He truly did release it as an art form, in his own personal interpretation, that truly only you, would be able to identify as his passion. His subtle, appreciative passion that no one can spot unless he’s walked to school with Lay on several occasions and learned to be comfortable with mutual silences.

After watching the DVD, not much changed. You got closer with him, but just as you got closer with everyone else. You always felt as if Lay had an extra element on you and who you were, so he’d always be a foundation for you if you needed it. But you couldn’t deny that there wasn’t the chemistry you had once thought you felt and got excited over. At least it’s clear that he sees you as a comfort zone as well, judging by how he knows that only you will be able to understand the subtle element in his overall personality. You feel as if it could have built up into something… good. But in the end, you cannot force anything to happen.

All you knew now was that there was nothing more important than your studies. Many of your good friends would be graduating soon after your exams, and you were going to attend their graduation ceremony to support them. But right now, you had to earn that opportunity. And the only way you would earn it would be through harsh, intensive studying. Nothing could stop you.

**

“I can’t believe… How did you do it?” Vicky gazes at your almost perfect score on your Korean final exam with disbelief and envy.

“Hard work and great tutors.” You smile proudly as you send the photo of your score to Xander on your phone.

[All thanks to you. Thank you for everything<3]

In minutes, you receive a wondrous, excited, celebratory text back. But you just laugh at the follow up text that appears afterwards.

[But you make it sound like you’re leaving forever when I’m the one graduating tomorrow^^]

[You’ll look for me after the ceremony, right?]

[Wouldn’t miss out. I only have a day left after graduation before going back to the US. Do you think I would forget you? :P]

[I knew you wouldn’t (:]

“So what else did you get a perfect score on, Miss Perfect Scorer?” Vicky sneers at you.

“Nothing except the painting.” You smile sweetly, referring to your final project where you were to paint a still life shoe. It took you hours to perfect all the nooks and spots on the detailed sports shoe that you had used, not to mention the fading background, but you did it. And your hard work brought good results.

“And what? 95% on every other final exam you took at this school?” Jia scoffs, chuckling.

“One of them was an 88% if want to know.” You pout innocently.

“Unbelievable!” Vicky shouts, throwing her arms into the air before stuffing her papers into her bag. You follow her lead and put your test scores away, still smiling to yourself as you follow the girls out of the classroom and out of the building. The only guys hanging around at the courts were the ones who were in your year, Sehun, Kai, Kyungsoo, and Tao.

“Guess who gets to gloat about her test scores~!” You sing as you skip over towards the courts and plop yourself down beside Sehun and Tao.

“Who?” Tao gasps sarcastically.

Out of nowhere, you grab hold of his face and blow a ‘farting’ kiss onto his cheek to taunt him before turning away as he cries out in disgust and attempts to wipe the spit off of his face. “Sehun-ah~ Guess what score I got for my Korean exam?”

“An almost perfect score?” he guesses with an amused expression on his face. “Shall I congratulate you?”

“You know me so well. Thank you.” you smile and bump up against him.

“Hooray~ Little Miss Perfect gets wonderful scores.” Vicky sarcastically cheers in a bitter voice, “Guys, let’s get out of here. Let’s go eat ice cream.” She kicks Kai’s foot against the ground before he makes a move to stand up.

“Whoo! Ice cream!” You and Tao jump up together with your fists in the air. The two of you look at each other before walking forward together towards the gates, animatedly discussing ice cream types and flavors, whilst the rest of the group follows along behind.

This time, you all go to an actual ice cream shop several more blocks away, and two people each share a sundae dish. You and Tao share a combination of butter pecan, mint chocolate chip, and the traditional vanilla and chocolate. Whipped cream and peanuts cover the top scoops and the two of you decide to play a game as you eat. You take turns naming different fruits to earn another bite of ice cream. By the time you run out of fruits to name, you have several spoonfuls left, so you just decide to quit and go free for all.

It seems that you two are the first pair finished with your ice cream. Vicky and Fei had shared a banana split, Kyungsoo and Kai had shared a very chocolate-vanilla swirl combination, and Jia and Sehun are just slow eaters with their fruity sorbet combination. “Aw… we should’ve had a contest to see who could finish first.” You say.

“Does it look like anyone else would have won anyway?” Tao scoffs, “Besides, the point of getting the ice cream was to enjoy it for ending exams.”

“Good point.” You nod. “So what are you doing during summer? Volunteering?”

“No way! I’m going on the excursion to Canada to visit Kris when he prepares for college.” He says.

“Oh you are? I’m going on the excursion to London.” You smile.

“Bring me back something.” He requests.

“Get me something too.” You deal.

“I think I know just what you’d like.” He chuckles.

“And don’t forget to practice your Korean.” You remind him, “I got here seven months after you and look at me now. I sound like a local.” You smile, jokingly flipping your ponytail over your shoulder.

“Sure you do.” Tao rolls his eyes.

“Not like you’d be able to hear anyway.”

He pauses to turn and send a killing gaze your way. And suddenly, your throat feels like it’s been caught on something when you see his cat-like eyes pierce their way through yours like a sharp diamond. “Oh my god…” you choke out a gasp, holding a hand to your chest, “That gaze just pierced through my soul…” you breathe out as you lower your gaze to cower in his wake.

That’s when he lets out a warm laugh that totally contradicts the sharp, metallic gaze he had just given you, and that adorably dark face is back in its place.

**

“NO! KRIS! YOU PROMISED!” You shout to him over the webcam. You’re in a hotel room in London while your roommate is in the shower. Tao had gotten ahold of your green sketchbook that you had specially decided to give to Kris as a graduation present when you had finished it.

Originally, you were just going to give him a cupcake like you had for every other one of your friends that had just graduated. But when you thought back, Kris had always had your back since the first day of school, and you owed him a lot for always offering to be there for you whenever you needed help. You figured he deserved something that represented a lot your hard work, since he worked so hard himself.

Plus, that day at the beach on your birthday, he had caught you with your sketchbook once and demanded to see it. You refused firmly, claiming that you would only let someone look through that book if you had to leave or you were dying. It wasn’t you who was leaving, but it felt as if you wouldn’t feel as secure without him to offer help by your side next year. You made sure to write a special note on the paper you slipped into the inside cover of the book, explaining everything you appreciated and loved about him–from his intimidating stature to his adorable eye smile to his near flawless execution of all the languages he knew. Everything.

You had given it to him that day after the graduation ceremony with a firm warning as not to show anyone else. Only he was worthy of seeing all your hard work and you could only trust him not to look at you strangely after seeing all that you drew inside. He had promised to keep it safe to his eyes only, as well as promising to cherish the gift and how much work he knew you put into it. He promised he would guard it with his life.

Well what a lie that turned out to be, since it’s only been a couple days into Tao’s excursion to Canada and he’s already gotten a good look at the book on his first visit to Kris’s new dorm.

“I’m sorry! He just caught me off guard and took advantage of it!” he defends.

“What do you mean by that?” You scoff.

“Used my ultimate weapon on him.” Tao appears into the shot with your green sketchbook in his hands, laughing evilly.

“Your wushu stick?” You ask with a mix of incredulity and doubt.

“Buing buing~” he winks as he rubs his fist against his cheek. Kris just looks up at Tao before looking back to you through the webcam with his apologetic, big eyes.

You’re left with a dumbfounded gaze, “Wuh… What the hell was that?!”

“It’s called being cute, Baiyun. Something you wouldn’t understand.” Tao sticks his tongue at you.

Your jaw drops angrily in shock, “W-what?! Okay, you don’t have to call me cute, but how the hell was that… that… THAT supposed to be considered cute? Anyone can do that. Buing buing! Buing buing!!” You shout angrily, your hands nowhere near your face.

“Yeah… that was so cute.” Tao nods sarcastically, flipping through the sketchbook.

“HUANG ZITAO. STOP!” You shout.

“What does it matter? I’ve flipped through most of it already. This book proves nothing besides the fact that you’re obsessed with us and you have a weird photographic memory.” He says as he continuous flipping through the book. “Although I must say, I look good in all of mine.” He nods approvingly before looking up again, “You should start a new one over there in London and make it of me doing my ‘buing buing’.” He suggests.

You look at him with an expressionless face and shut off your side of the webcam, leaving on your mic and the instant messenger box at the box of the pop up window. You slide off your chair onto the carpeted hotel room floor, “That was incredibly cute…” You admittedly mumble to yourself.

“Told you.” you hear a voice giggle before disappearing into the background.

When you bring yourself back up to face the screen and turn your screen back on to meet Kris, “In other news,” You attempt to casually move on, “I like your new hair.”

**

The first thing you hear after you’re attacked but a ‘farting’ smooch to the cheek is “Buing buing.”

“UGH!” You cringe, smearing Tao’s spit off of your face as you push him off of you. “If this is your way of saying ‘I missed you’ or ‘It’s great to see you back, Baiyun’ then you need to improve your tactics for self-expression.”

“Actually, the first one was payback for last time. And the agyeo was just for you.” he winks before taking hold of your rolling suitcase and throwing an arm around your shoulders to lead you to the entrance gates out of the airport towards your taxi. “Since you find it so incredibly adorable.”

“Get off of me.” You mutter, not knowing what else to say as you look the other way from his triumphant, smiling face as he leads you to the taxi.

“So I hope you started on your depiction of my buing buing. Because that’s going to be hard to come by again.” He continues happily.

“Good.” You roll your eyes as he releases you to put your suitcase into the back of the taxi.

When the two of you are in the back of the taxi and Tao gives the driver the district to drive to, he throws his arm back around your shoulders and pulls you closer to him, “I missed you too, by the way.”

At that, what else can you do but look out the window and smile?

Thank you all SO much for reading, subscribing, and commenting! I enjoyed writing this story and I hope you at least somewhat enjoyed reading it. I know, i don't have a knack for good endings, but I hope you're somewhat okay with who I chose for her to 'end up' with^^ This has been fun. Happy reading~