You were silently fuming as you walked home alone one day. It had been three days since you walked away from Daniel and you two haven't spoken since. You ate lunch and went for classes alone. Jaemin was occasionally there but it wasn't the same as having Daniel there with you. To be quite honest, you missed having him with you. You thought he would brush off the issue and go back to you, but he hadn't. And it had been three days.

"Was I too harsh on him?" You whispered to yourself, thinking you were alone.

"Actually, yes, you were. Do you talk to yourself, now?"

You slightly jumped in fright as you heard the voice behind you. You turned around to see an amused Daniel right behind you. Looking at his soft smile, you couldn't help but let all your anger slip away. You felt your lips stretch up - an automatic reaction whenever you saw a smiling Daniel.

"Hey, best friend," you smiled, punching his arm lightly.

"Missed me?" Daniel teased.

"Actually, I did. Why didn't you talk to me?" You pouted.

"Thought I'd give you space to chill," he replied, shrugging. "Date tomorrow, huh?"

You nodded, turning again to continue walking home while Daniel fell into step beside you. You two caught up with each other, although it had only been three days. You shoved Daniel whenever he said something stupid, which happened quite often. If anyone saw you two then, they would have thought they'd just seen a sweet couple walking home together. But of course, while Daniel knew what you two looked like to others, you were completely oblivious.

The weekend passed as quickly as it came, and on Monday morning, you walked into school with your arm looped around Jaemin's. Let's just say the date went extremely well and you had let your crush grow into bigger proportions by the time the night ended. Jaemin was attentive and sweet, and seemed to care about you a whole lot. Rumours spread like wildfire and everyone in school was shocked you were finally taken. Your secret admirers let their shoulders slump as they walked away, tossing the chocolates, flowers and love letters into garbage cans. 

Daniel leaned against his locker, holding on to one of his bag straps. He watched you and Jaemin walk by him. His heart crushed a little, but he ignored it as he let his eyes follow you. He had to make sure you weren't touched appropriately, knowing Jaemin's reputation for taking girls to his bed. Satisfied there wasn't any funny business, he turned and walked to his first period class, slightly crestfallen.

On Thursday, Daniel found himself sitting alone at your usual table for lunch. Just like the previous three days. His eyes were scanning the cafeteria for you when they landed at the table reserved for the jocks. There you were, sitting beside Jaemin who had his arm around your waist. You giggled at something one of his friends said, and Jaemin leaned his head down to kiss your cheek. Throwing away his untouched lunch, Daniel walked out of the cafeteria with clenched fists hidden inside his pockets. He climbed the stairs swiftly two by two, and pushed the door to the rooftop open with his foot. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Daniel laid himself down on a stone bench by the rooftop greenhouse. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze. Unknowingly, he succumbed to sleep.

You waited for Daniel by his locker after school, fidgeting and rocking on the balls of your feet. Jaemin was waiting for you outside with his group of friends. The whole group was going for ice cream at Jaemin's, and you had asked if you could bring Daniel along. Although Jaemin seemed irritated, he had let you ask. You blew out air as you examined the corridors. You spotted a slumped figure walking towards you, and instantly you knew. The figure approached you, yawning and scratching his head.

"Did you skip class just to sleep?" You asked, skeptical, when Daniel stopped beside you.

"You noticed," Daniel commented, lightly pushing you aside to open his locker door.

"Yeah, duh. Anyway, we're going for ice cream. Wanna come?"

"We?"

"Jaemin and his friends. At Jaemin’s house. He says his chef's homemade ice cream is the best!"

Daniel's eyes visibly widened when you said you were going to Jaemin's place. Overwhelmed with emotions, he blurt out the words he had been keeping in.

"Jaemin's not trustworthy. Why can't you see? It's very obvious he only wants you in bed!"

Daniel put his hand over his mouth when he realised what he just said.

“I’m sorry, I just want–”

"Strike two, Daniel Chae. Don't let there be a third," you spoke calmly, walking off to Jaemin who had appeared at the end of the hallway.

“Is everything okay? Is he coming with us?” Jaemin asked once you had reached him, intertwining his fingers with yours.

“He’s busy. Let’s go,” you responded before dragging Jaemin out of school.

You followed Jaemin in his car back to his house. In the car, Jaemin tried to keep the mood up when he noticed you were slightly down. He frowned at the sight, displeased with your lack of reaction. He attempted conversation, which you were both grateful for and annoyed at. You thought that Daniel was wrong, after all. Jaemin was indeed a gentleman who truly cared about you. He showed that through his actions, when he tried to cheer you up.

When you arrived at Jaemin’s house, he immediately ordered the chef to get ice cream ready for his friends. You were slightly taken aback at the tone of his voice. There wasn’t any emotion behind it. Just plain ordering, as if he didn’t care about the chef at all. Then again, it was the chef’s job to follow whatever his boss’s son said. You were whisked away and brought to Jaemin’s room, where he made you sit on the bed while he changed in his bathroom. You glanced around awkwardly, wondering why he had suddenly brought you to his bedroom. Shouldn’t you two be with his friends downstairs?

“Shouldn’t we be downstairs with the other guys?” you asked the moment Jaemin walked out of his bathroom.

“I thought we could get some alone time before going down for ice cream,” he smiled.

The way he said it made you squirm. He sounded as if he had a hidden intention, and suddenly you were wondering if what Daniel had said was right.

No, Daniel’s wrong. Jaemin’s innocent, you thought.

You flashed an uneasy smile when Jaemin stepped closer to you. He leaned against his headboard and gestured for you to go over to him. You hesitantly did, sitting down next to him. His arm went around your shoulders and he pulled you closer, using his free hand to grab the remote control and turn the television on. You began to relax, and Jaemin switched to a comedy movie that was airing.

“Are you comfortable?” Jaemin asked, looking down at you.

“Y-y-yeah,” you replied, stuttering. You cursed yourself in your head for doing so.

“Why are you stuttering? Are you nervous?” Jaemin teased, leaning his head down to whisper in your ear.

You cleared your throat and turned your head away so your ear wouldn’t touch his lips. You were getting uncomfortable at the physical contact but you felt like you had to get used to it since Jaemin was your boyfriend, after all. Jaemin leaned back against the headboard, so you turned your head back to the television.

“I’m fine,” you smiled up at him.

Jaemin leaned his head down once more, and his hand went behind your head to hold you in place. You kept your eyes locked on his, your faces inches away from each other. You felt your breath hitch, and you shut your eyes. You were getting panicky and you knew it. When you felt Jaemin’s breath against your lips, you quickly turned your head away.

At the same time, the door flew open.

You pushed Jaemin away and your cheeks reddened from embarrassment.

“Woah, sorry, I didn’t know I was disturbing something. Ice cream’s ready,” you heard one of Jaemin’s friends say from the door.

“I get it. Out,” Jaemin ordered, clearly suppressing his annoyance.

The door closed, and Jaemin let out a heavy sigh. He looked at you, frustrated. He couldn’t understand why you kept avoiding physical contact, save for hand-holding. He figured you weren’t ready, and he was starting to hate it. Other girls had been so willing to give themselves up to him, and here you were, hesitating even when he only wanted to kiss you. It drove him mad, and he couldn’t wait until he could finally break pass your barrier and take you. That was his main goal, and he wanted to achieve it as soon as possible.

“Let’s go downstairs,” Jaemin smiled as he held his hand out to you, which you took without hesitation.

His smile made you feel all better, and you were glad he hadn’t said anything about the awkward situation earlier or you would have had a mental breakdown trying to think of an answer.

You headed downstairs with Jaemin, hand in hand. His friends looked up when you came down and raised their eyebrows, all eyes focused on your linked hands. You immediately looked at your feet, letting your long hair cover your face. You didn’t see any of the gestures the boys made to Jaemin, encouraging him to take a step further and faster. They didn’t like you anymore than he did, but of course, that you didn’t know. To them, you were just another one of Jaemin’s toys, not a friend like what you saw them as.

“Let’s eat ice cream!” Jaemin exclaimed, while his grip on your hand loosened.

You looked up at his beaming face, and you couldn’t help but to smile in response. His arm went around your waist and pulled you closer, catching you by surprise. He tightened his hold and led you to the dining table by the kitchen, where his friends joined you right after. You and Jaemin were on one side while his friends were on the other.

“Open up,” Jaemin said as he held up a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in front of you.

Your cheeks flushed a light pink, and you opened your mouth to take in the sweet treat. Jaemin tilted the spoon, and a small amount of the ice cream dripped from the spoon and onto your thigh. He hurriedly set the spoon down and grabbed a piece of tissue paper from the box on the table.

“Here, let me.”

Jaemin started wiping the mess off of your thigh and you looked on, flustered. Suddenly, his hand went further up, even though the ice cream had all been wiped off. You momentarily froze in place, unsure of how to react. When Jaemin’s hand started caressing your inner thighs, you snapped out of your frozen state and pushed his hand away. You faced the other way, not wanting to meet Jaemin’s eyes.

“I’ll take you home after this,” Jaemin cleared his throat.

You simply nodded your head and finished your ice cream in record time, wanting to leave as fast as possible. Once you were done, Jaemin told his friends to stay while he sent you home. He grabbed his car keys and ushered you into the car, and then driving you home speedily. It was already getting dark and he knew you hated staying out when it was dark.

“So, thanks for today,” you smiled, clutching onto your bag strap.

“No problem. Isn’t there anyone home?”

“No, my parents went on a trip together,” you answered, nervously scratching your head.

A smirk formed on Jaemin’s face, and he stepped closer to you. Instinctively, you walked backwards. With each step you too, Jaemin would come forward. It continued until you were against your house door, with Jaemin practically leaning on you. There was hardly any space in between your bodies, and you were beginning to feel suffocated. You tried to push him away but he wouldn’t budge. Your strength was nothing compared to his, anyway.

“W-w-what are you d-doing?” you stuttered, getting nervous.

“Something I’ve always wanted to do,” Jaemin explained, the smirk still on his face.

His hand came up to your neck, restricting your head movement. His fingers held on to your jaw, so you could only look at him. You looked into his eyes and all you could see was a certain kind of desperation.

Jaemin’s lips smashed themselves against yours in a split second. Your eyes widened, but the more you resisted, the more Jaemin would force himself on you.

Relax, he’s your boyfriend, you told yourself.

You slowly shut your eyes and moved your lips against Jaemin’s. You could feel his smirk growing as he pushed you further against the wall. It was starting to hurt your back but you ignored the pain. You’d rather focus on the intimate contact between you and your boyfriend. Jaemin’s hands started roaming all over, from your neck to your arms, and even to your hips. You stiffened when one of his hands stopped on your thigh, and you tried to pull your head back. However, Jaemin’s other hand held your head in place. The hand on your leg crept inwards carefully, and you attempted to twist your body to avoid the hand. You closed your eyes tight, bracing yourself for what was going to happen.

Except, it didn’t.

You felt something pull Jaemin off of you, and you opened your eyes when you heard the unmistakable sound of fist hitting skin. Your own hand covered your mouth in shock as you took it in the scene in front of you.

Jaemin was on the floor and he was rubbing at the corner of your lips. Daniel was standing over him, his fist clenched tight and an angry expression on his face. Jaemin swiftly stood up and squared his shoulders, facing Daniel. He attempted to throw his fist at Daniel’s stomach but the latter dodged the blow and landed another one at Jaemin’s side. Jaemin fell to the ground again, wincing in pain.

“What are you doing?” You questioned Daniel, fuming.

“Would you like him to take advantage of you right on your doorstep?”

“Who told you to interfere? What if I wanted him to?” you yelled, letting your emotions control your words.

“Tell me you liked what he was doing to you,” Daniel whispered as he stepped closer to you, his eyes showing his rage.

“I liked it,” you answered without hesitation. “Strike three, Daniel. Stop entangling yourself in my problems. I can take care of myself, thank you. Just leave me alone.”

You brushed past Daniel and bent down to help Jaemin up on his feet. You fished your house keys from your bag, leading Jaemin into your house after opening the door. You threw another glare at Daniel before slamming the door shut.

“Okay, if that's what you want, I’ll leave you alone now,” Daniel whispered, turning around to return to his house.