CHAPTER 9

CLAIRE

Ow, my head hurt like no other. My eyelids groggily opened, but I saw nothing but black.

After having a mini panic moment of thinking that I was blind, I realized it was 2 in the morning by the digital clock on the nightstand.

Wait, that didn’t look like my clock…

And why was there a picture of Key on my nightstand?

I mean, I always had at least like, five pictures minimum… I needed my Key, Jonghyun, Doojoon, G.O., Joon, Justin Bieber…

I sat straight up in a cold shock as I scrambled frantically around my thoughts.

“You’re staying in my hotel room, right?” Justin’s voice. His eyes.

“I’m SOOO SORRY!” Jonghyun. .

Key, kissing me.

Oh my God.

No way.

I cringed as I turned my head. Part of me was like, HELL YES, it HAS to be SHINee there. The other part was like HELL NO, please let me have had some SERIOUS head problems and imagined the entire thing.

Across the room from me, was Taemin on a top-bunk, in all his dorkiness and little-kid PJs. On the bottom bunk, Minho lay flat on his back, asleep.

It took all my strength in the world not to scream.

I slumped down on the bed and made a much bigger noise than I wanted.

Oh , , , act like you’re sleeping, self.

“You must be having time change problems, right?” Minho’s y voice suggested while he rustled around to face me. “I know you’re awake.”

Caught. “Yeah, I guess so,” I managed, hoping not to sound completely crazy. “What happened? Did I fall asleep on you guys?”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, but I would totally pass out on Key too if I saw Jonghyun .”

I felt my face burn with embarrassment. So it wasn’t a dream. I think I nearly died inside, of happiness and Jonghyun’s own embarrassment.

I frantically tried to wipe all thoughts of Jonghyun out of my head. As much as I love men…

Woah, what was Minho doing?

He had climbed down the bunk, and extended an arm towards me. Looking cute in ruffled sweatpants and a t-shirt, Minho made my heart speed up sooo much.

Man, and he wasn’t even my bias.

I got up and looked down at my clothes. A gray old T and red basketball shorts had been slung around my body loosely. This was not what I was wearing before. How the hell did I get into this?

I mean, there are only guys living in SHINee’s apartment, obviously.

Gulp.

At my shock, Minho provided, “Oh, those are Taemin’s old clothes.”

“Oh, do you mean how you—“ he started, and grinned. “Don’t worry, we didn’t let Jonghyun change you.”

“What?” I asked, suddenly super confused again. My brain was moving too fast, my wrist tingly where Minho touched me. He answered with a little laugh and led me out the door.

“Where are we going at two in the morning?” I asked while we climbed the elevator.

Minho just smiled again. “You’ll see.”

-

KEY

This was SO depressing.

Two in the morning.

By myself.

At a ddukboki and alcohol place on the street.

The ahjumma gave me a concerned look. “Are you okay, son? I haven’t seen you here in a while.”

This was my shack; the place I go when nothing’s going right and I need to think and kill some brain cells with extremely spicy ddukboki. I raised a hand curtly, saying, “One firehole ddukboki please.”

I wasn’t tired at all, explaining every single nerve in me bouncing around my insides while I tried to sleep earlier.

It was all Claire. She was sleeping in my bed, with Taemin and Minho sleeping across the room from her,

She liked Justin Bieber.

She would rather date him, even though I’m cuter.

I knew it.

I don’t know why it upset me so much, but it did.

I mean, come on. I’m a celebrity too. I don’t fall in love with random fangirls. That’s sooo cliché. I’ve read my share of fanfics.

So what’s so different about Claire?

There are probably TONS of Claires out there, writing gay fanfictions about me and Justin Bieber.

I needed to get over it. She’s some dumb chick. So what, I kissed her. I kiss a lot of girls.

Dipping my toothpick into a menacing-hot rice cake, I swam in thoughts about her.

She had that attitude, the one where she totally laughed her off at me and my supposed ‘womanliness’. She was kinda weird.

I stuck the fire-ball in my mouth and breathed out. Ah, I was punishing myself:

Claire’s lips were right there. I couldn’t help myself! I just did it, okay?

Gah. But it felt SO good.

I’m so disgusting.

I just lip- like no other.

Jonghyun might be fine with that, but I’m a nice guy and don’t do stuff to girls while they’re sleeping/passed out in horror. That’s a no in my book.

Slapping myself, I didn’t dare reach out for the glass of water beside me. Just to suffer in the pain of spiciness.

“You wanna share?” a voice said.

Damn, now I was imagining her voice. I ignored it, just shoving another ddukboki in my mouth angrily.

“You’re gonna choke, Key!” Then. like magic, Claire showed up next to me and held up my water. She pressed it against my lips, surprising me even more. The water went in my mouth, but then flew out in my flustered state.

And splattered all over her face.

I stood up, taking my shirt and wiping up her face while apologizing. “I’m so sorry, Claire! I was just surprised!”

“It’s okay,” she said, grimly wiping my water off her forehead. “I guess I shouldn’t have randomly shocked you like that!”

I sat back down. Wow. All chances of ever getting her to like me, GONE. I just spat water on her.

“Well, thanks for the face wash!” Claire provided, laughing anyway. “Your backwash, by the way, is wonderful.”

I kept my hand under my chin to keep from gaping. No girl had EVER, ever ever been so comfortable around me. She acted like… I was no one. And it made me feel so much more nervous. “So I heard you liked Justin Bieber,” I blurted without thinking.

Well, DUH, she liked Justin Bieber. She said so. What the hell was I thinking?

Nothing came out right.

Especially my drinking water.

She blushed adorably, playing with another cup of water. “Uh, not really. He’s just a friend, I guess.”

“A friend?”

Shrugging, she jabbed a ddukboki and put it in . “HOLY, THIS IS FRIGGING SPI—“ she yelled after a second, fanning in a way only she would look super y doing.

“What are you doing, help her!” the ahjumma yelled briskly and knocked me out of my reverie. She rearranged all the little stools around us and knocked me towards her.

I put a hand around her waist and fed her water like she did to me. “Oh my God, what’s in this, like world’s spiciest pepper? Damn!”

I started to crack up, “You’re… So… American… !” She pouted and knocked my shoulder aside lightly. I realized I still had my hand around her waist, but it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I tried. (Not that I tried too hard)

“You’re so Korean!” she countered.  “We’re even. I saved you once, you saved me once. Okay?”

Flustered yet again by her looking directly at me, I got tangled up in the mess of stools we were standing in.

Oh .

My body pressed against hers, and BAM.

We were on the floor, me on top of her, probably squishing her.

Damn, I probably need to lose some weight. Her eyes were bugging out like crazy.

She just stared at me for the second I couldn’t move a muscle.

After the awkward apologies and dusting off, I caught a small smile on the ahjumma, who was busing another table.

She winked.

-

MINHO

Why am I such a good guy?

I shook my head as I watched Key apologize to Claire. Once again.

She was cute. Damn cute.

But I don’t know, I felt kind of… guilty. She wouldn’t be the first girl either Jonghyun and I have stolen.

I turned to leave, glancing back once more at the lovebirds. I’ve never seen Key SO awkward in my life. He’s usually like that flamboyant, cool, straight-headed guy. Key’s always full of words, all of them well thought out and smart, some say blunt and rude. But that’s Key for you. Until now…?

Maybe it’s because he kissed Justin freaking Bieber today?

Maybe it’s because Claire is so darn ridiculously cute?

And I’m a pretty good judge of girls. But I really, really can’t tell for Claire. She seems nice and polite, then BAM! HAHAAH laugh-in-yo-face and point when you do something stupid.

Totally fits Key just like that.

-

This is not good, and really overdue....

sorry guys:/

school stuff's starting to calm down, so hopefully i'll update more!