prologue ; 

"Are you sure about this, honey?"

She chuckles softly. Her fingers grip the bag just a bit tighter, but her hands are steady, and she is standing up. The chair pushes back with a soft whine as she walks toward the front door. Her hand floats above the door knob as she turns around.

"Don't worry, mother. I'll be just fine."

A smile graces her lips, and she takes a step outside. It's time to go, and she won't hold back.

"Hey, Tao, are you excited?"

He slouches back lazily in his seat and lets out a yawn. The look in his eyes makes the other boy sigh in resignation, but he can't do anything to change him. It is simply how he acts. His indifferent attitude never fails to throw him off, but there must be some reason why he stays.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

Tao looks up at him with dull eyes and waves him away. He leans his head against the back of the chair and rests his long legs on top of his desk. His eyes slowly close, the eyelashes cascading over his eyelids in a waterfall of black.

"There's really nothing to be excited about, Kyungsoo. It's just a bunch of girls."

His friend frowns. Meanwhile, another boy comes barelling into the classroom. Kyungsoo groans.

His tie is undone, his hair looks like a bird's nest, and his shirt is halfway ed (as well as the buttons placed in the wrong holes).

Tao chuckles, "It looks like you were stuffed inside a blender."

The boy looks at Tao in dismay. "Your eyes are closed!"

His smile is smug as he says, "I know."

Kyungsoo frowns in his direction as he drags the newly-arrived boy by the ear.

"Come here, Jongin. Why did you come to school like this, anyway?"

The younger boy smiles sheepishly before admitting, "I was trying to catch a glimpse at the girls, but all the guys were in the way. Oh, and I rushed here because I woke up late."

Kyungsoo tsks and flicks him on the forehead as punishment. Jongin can be very thoughtless at times, and his rather disorganized condition is actually very common (especially on Monday mornings like today). Tao shakes his head at them and continues to take his quick nap before class. He just hopes that he can continue to sleep in this quiet environment. Who knows what would happen if he was disturbed again-

"Hey, guys! Come over, the girls are by my class! They're coming through the third years' hallway!"

Just count to ten, Tao. Just count to ten.

His fists clench as he in a slow breath. Irritation sparks inside his head and his eyelids flicker as he struggles to control his patience. If only these boys weren't his friends. If only his conscience wasn't in the way. Curse them for being such nice souls. While the boys are aware of his skills in martial arts, they aren't as aware as they should be. They are definitely underestimating his abilities. Oh, the things he could do to them... But he shouldn't let his fatigue get to him; he can get sleep during class, anyway.

"You know what, let's just go. If it'll get him to shut up, I'm all for it."

Kyungsoo gulps before leading an equally as terrified Jongin behind him. Tao follows slowly, his pace lazy and sluggish. They nag at him for moving at the pace of a snail - Luhan, being as chipper as he is in the morning, tries to motivate him - but he ignores them. They're lucky that he's even getting up at all.

He sighs again.

"Guys, I know you have hormones and needs and all that jazz, but really. They're just a couple of girls."

The three boys share a collective gaze of is-he-for-real before Luhan gasps a bit too dramatically.

"Just a couple of girls? You know this school is hard to get into."

Kyungsoo speaks up, "Yeah, they're not just a couple of girls, Tao."

"They're a couple of girls that are smart and talented and hopefully hot!" Jongin finishes.

He just sighs once more and walks in front of them, his hands inside his pockets. Tao knows he looks intimidating, with his brooding stare and tall figure, but he doesn't really care. They don't know him; they shouldn't judge him. As he thinks about it more, he realizes that he can be quite congenial if people actually got to know him. But that was exactly the problem. They didn't.

A tiny feeling tugging at the back of his mind tells him that the girls won't try either. He feels something pull at his heartstrings ever so slightly. Hmph. Who is he to listen to his heart? But the feeling crawls into his head, too. He feels unnerved, but his calm and collected strut continues, and his face remains stoic.

Tao hears Luhan snicker, "You think you're hiding it, but I can see everything just by the look in your eyes."

He towers over the older boy in an intimidating manner, but Luhan just grins. He scoffs.

"Whatever, let's just see what we came to see."

"So you do want to see them, then?" Kyungsoo asks a bit too mockingly. The I-knew-it in his voice is apparent.

"I just want to get this over with so you guys can shut up and I can sleep."

"Of course that's the reason," Jongin sings.

Tao decides that he hates Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Luhan. Sarcasm is also a bit irritating at the moment.

 author's note ; 

Just a little something to get my creative juices flowing. Please anticipate the next chapter. ^_^ Hopefully this wasn't too boring... Honestly, I at beginnings. Ohoho