a/n: I don't normally post my a/n's before the chapter, but this is necessary.

So...I've written this MONTHS ago. It's been a story that I've been thinking of writing for a long time, simply because I've always wanted to highschool!au at some point. I've been sick for the past week and I've had finals week before that, so in lieu of me not being able to update my other story, I'm posting this. I'm posting this to gauge interest, so if you want to see this story continued then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a comment, subscription, and/or an upvote. I want to see if this story is actually worth going through with, so I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Jaejoong~

Kim Jaejoong<3

ShimKim^^

Absolute perfection!

Changmin let out a sigh as he filled up yet another page of his notepad with scribbles. Sitting in the student council classroom after school, the student should be crunching numbers and working on the budget for prom, but he has his head in the clouds instead. Prom season became the time where everyone was obsessing over their perfect nights with their perfect dates, and Changmin wasn’t any different. Each time the thought of the event entered his mind—which was a lot as a student council member—he couldn’t help but think about his own dream date. Instead of letting the thoughts consume him, he just dropped his head on the desk in adolescent frustration.

The people on student council knew better than to bother him; he was brilliant and organized, but very reclusive and skittish, refusing to talk unless he absolutely has to speak or in the rare occasion that he was willing to say something. He’s attended the school for four years now on scholarship, and he’s only been able to call two people here his friends. When the other two joined student council, Changmin’s father suggested he do the same; as much as the boy disliked interacting with many people, he only joined because of the other two students.  He usually let the other two boys handle the socializing while he stayed behind the scenes, anyway.

Changmin just preferred to observe from afar than be the center of attention. He wouldn’t want to be the center of attention; attention brings curiosity, and Changmin doesn’t want anyone knowing about his personal life, or the fact that he’s the son of the school’s headmaster. He had enough problems at the last school he attended with his father as the principal, the boy didn’t want another dose of bullying thanks to his father’s strictness as an administrator.

He ripped out the top page of his notepad that was littered with hearts and words written in infatuation and started anew on the next page of lined paper. Putting his ballpoint pen to the white sheet, Changmin went back to trying to figure out the budget numbers while his best friend bustled around the room, picking up papers off the desks as he made his way around. It was after school, and most student council members were involved in other things; he wasn’t one of them, and stayed in the room until it was time to go home.

“Two tickets to prom?” a deep voice boomed into the nearly empty classroom.

Jung Yunho, student council president, pivoted on his heel and jogged over to the door with a folder full of forms in his hands. “Yeah, hold on a sec. Changmin-ah!” he called out over his shoulder as he entered the hallway. “Come help these two quickly, I need to run downstairs to the administration office and drop off these forms!”

Sighing, the treasurer rose from his desk facing the back of the classroom and shuffled over toward the doorway. “How can I-” Changmin started before he choked on his words, staring at the two boys standing in the hallway.

The tall one he recognized as Choi Seunghyun, captain of the soccer team and certified douchebag. The boy was good-looking, yes, but he was lacking in other places such as intelligence and manners. Who cared for those qualities in high school, though? Everyone liked the popular jocks with reputations anyway. Changmin never cared for the boy, even if he was tall and had a wonderful body and face. Who the treasurer did care for, however, had his arm wrapped around the soccer captain’s waist.

Kim Jaejoong, life of the party and rebel without a cause. If you looked up the word “perfection” in the dictionary, his portrait would probably be there with his eyes crinkled and a smile that put the prettiest girls to shame. He was a gift of the gods with his large, doe-like eyes, high cheekbones, and plump lips that made him look almost ethereal. Girls wished to be as beautiful as him while boys spent many sleepless nights questioning their uality because of the boy.

Shim Changmin, on the other hand, didn’t spend those nights questioning his orientation; the beauty was the apple of his eye since Jaejoong took the school by storm two years ago as a transfer from the United States. The new student managed to go through high school effortlessly, dodging the awkward adolescence that many of his classmates had unluckily embodied. Being the only child of a successful businessman and his trophy wife, Jaejoong had everything at his disposal yet managed to keep a humble attitude with some acts of rebellion from time to time. He was like fire; gorgeous to look at and makes you feel warm when you’re near it, but destructive to anyone who didn’t know how to handle it.

With high school ending in a little over a month, the student still hadn’t attempted to strike up a conversation with the boy of his dreams; it wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to him, he simply couldn’t. And Changmin would sadly not be surprised if the beauty didn’t even know his name. But having the flawless Kim Jaejoong standing in front of him in all of his otherworldly glory had an effect on the poor boy as he stumbled on his words.

“I’m sorry…I…um…Hi!” he stammered as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. “What were you…sorry…I mean, how can I help you?”

Seunghyun quirked an eyebrow in annoyance. “Two tickets to prom,” he repeated slowly as if he were speaking to a five year old, gritting his teeth as he held out his cash to the lanky student.

“Oh…” Changmin replied as he let the athlete’s words sink in. “Yeah…one moment please.” And with that, the treasurer tugged at the money and stepped back in the room, slightly crestfallen that Jaejoong already snagged a prom date. There was no way that the treasurer would have gathered up the courage to ask the beauty to prom, but Changmin grew sad knowing that someone else would be sharing that special night with the Kim Jaejoong instead of him.

Then again, he should have known that the beauty had a new person in his life. Jaejoong always dyed his hair a new color when he was dating someone new. The last time Changmin saw the boy with another, he had platinum blonde hair. Today, he donned an auburn color that added a warm glow to his pale skin. It was just one of the boy’s many subtle quirks that Changmin adored yet nobody appreciated or noticed. No one really knew the system behind the beauty’s hairstyle changes or paid attention to it, but the treasurer had taken note of it long ago.

Unlocking the cashbox that sat at his desk, Changmin shoved the cash in before reaching across the table for an envelope that had “Prom Tickets” scribbled on it in loopy letters. Pulling out two, the student gazed at the pair of tickets and just wished that the second ticket had been his instead of Seunghyun’s. Letting out a sigh that had emerged from the depths of his being, Changmin turned and headed back to the doorway, dragging his feet across the cheap linoleum as he kept his eyes on the ground.

“Why the sad face?” an airy voice questioned.

The tall, lanky student’s face shot up at the voice, his large eyes widening at the sight of the lone figure leaning against the doorframe. “I…um…”

“You know,” Jaejoong started as he pushed off of the wooden frame and sauntered over to the other until he stood a mere foot away, “you shouldn’t stare at the tiles when you’re sad.”

Changmin bit his lip and looked away from the beauty. “Sorry,” he muttered softly.

“It’s funny,” the redhead commented as he toed a square tile with his shoe, “the tiles are gray; they lack color. The only people who look down at the ground while walking are unhappy people. But how can unhappy people cheer up when there’s no happiness gained from looking at a gray floor?”

“…Sorry…” The taller boy had no idea what else to say.

Jaejoong let out a small chuckle. “Stop apologizing, it’s not your fault.” He took a second to stare around before letting out a contented sigh. “If you’re unhappy, look up. Gaze at the blue sky and the flowers in bloom this spring. See the skyline or a bird flying around. Just don’t ever look down or you won’t be able to cheer up.”

Lifting his eyes to gaze at the smaller man, Changmin knew exactly what Jaejoong meant. He took in the auburn hair, chestnut brown eyes, and ruby red lips that made up his absolutely gorgeous face and felt the warmth overcome him. When the pair of pillowy lips upturned into a smile, Changmin felt a small smile emerge on his face as well.

“That’s better,” Jaejoong complimented, his smile lighting up the room like a ray of sunshine. “You should always keep a smile on your face; nobody likes a downer.”

The other man could only nod in reply, still in shock. This was the longest conversation he had ever had with the beauty and he barely said three words. As he continued to stare, Jaejoong cleared his throat to get his attention before tilting his head slightly.

“Oh…Sorry. Where’s Seunghyun?” Changmin asked, shaking his head in embarrassment as he felt his cheeks heat up.

“He left. Something about meeting up with a few teammates. I’ll take the tickets, though.”

The taller student stuck his hand out awkwardly for the beauty to take the tickets. “Here,” he mumbled, not wanting to embarrass himself more. Changmin was just going to be known as ‘that awkward lanky kid who gave me my prom ticket’ to Jaejoong and he would prefer that to ‘that awkward, lanky creep who wouldn’t stop staring at me as he gave me my prom ticket’.

Jaejoong pulled the tickets from Changmin’s grasp, making sure to brush his fingers along the other’s hand as he did it. “Thank you, Changmin-ah,” the beauty said with a smile before turning around and heading to the door. “Have a nice day!” he called out over his shoulder with a wink before he made his graceful exit.

After ten seconds of silence in the classroom, the lone figure dropped to the ground, long legs crumpled beneath him. “He…he knows my name,” Changmin said out loud to himself, as if he were confirming his existence as a person. Sticking his hand out, he wiggled the fingers that the beauty had just touched and let out a giggle of happiness before rising from the ground and getting back to his work, beaming for the rest of the day.