(Doesn't this song fit this story so damn perfectly? xD)

Chapter 3

"See you tomorrow, guys!"

"Bye Hae!" Sungmin said back and smiled softly, while Hangeng just gave him a thumb up.

Siwon slightly scrunched his nose. "Be careful on the way", he said with a worried pout.

Donghae nodded vigorously and beamed at his friends one last time before he spun around excitedly and began to race through the hallways. On his way, he kept bidding good-bye to some friends, and even to some people he didn't know but who obviously knew him. He smiled at everyone, his cute crooked teeth proudly showing.

He liked this feeling, having everybody paying attention to him, saying 'hello' in the morning and 'bye' after classes. Everybody was always so nice to him. It made him feel loved and cared about. He usually took some time before leaving the school because he liked to stop by and chit-chat with his school-mates, and his friendly nature had made him even more popular.

That's why everyone got surprised when Donghae suddenly stopped hanging around the school and started to rush out of the building as soon as his last class was over. The brunet had began doing that for the last two weeks and the whole school was gossiping about it.

"Hae!" Jessica called him from her class as he was about to reach the staircase. "I'm almost done with my chores, can you wait for me? We could walk home together!" she grinned cutely.

Donghae turned around and kept walking backwards as he threw her an apologetic look.

"Sorry! I'm meeting up with someone! Bye!" he quickly replied and spun around, rushing to the stairs, missing to see Jessica's disappointed expression.  

He soon found himself exiting the main building. He walked on a few more meters before he finally passed the gate and stepped out of the school, almost running. He had a huge smile on his face and his stomach was all upside down from both impatience and excitement.

It had been two weeks since that day Eunhyuk had agreed for him to hang out with his band, and a new routine had begun for the brunet. Every day after school, Heechul or Kyuhyun would send him a message telling him where they were (or more precisely, where Eunhyuk was) and the brunet just had to go and meet up with them.

Eunhyuk always seemed a bit pissed off every time the brunet showed up, but the older teen never said anything or told him to leave. Most of the time, a frown would come and contort his face into some kind of displeased expression, but a stern look from Heechul always seemed to dissuade him to say anything.

Of course, Donghae was upset about it. He wanted Eunhyuk to be happy to see him (or at least pretend to be), and he wanted him to stop being so cold toward him, but the red-head was rough and gloomy all the time.

It hadn't taken long for Donghae to realize how different they were. They were like day and night. Donghae had a bright and cheerful personality while Eunhyuk was stern and always had a scowl on his face. He was friendly and talkative whereas the red-head was cold and barely ever talked. He never raised his voice at anyone, being the polite kid he always was, and on the contrary, Eunhyuk was rude and aggressive, like a stray dog ready to bite whoever approached him.

Donghae wasn't sure how their personalities would ever get along. They were too different and he didn't need to be a genius to see that. Yet, he wasn't going to give up and so he kept meeting up with Eunhyuk every day after school.

If his relationship with Eunhyuk was still on square one (in other words: Donghae was stalking Eunhyuk while the red-head tried to avoid him), it wasn't the case with the others.

Heechul was the one he liked the most. His hyung was literally worshipping him. He was so fond of Donghae that he began to call him his favorite dongsaeng. He pampered the little brunet and never hesitated to give him everything he could possibly ask for. Of course, Donghae loved it, hey! it always feels nice to get your every wish granted, but the thing he liked the most was that the elder sincerely liked him and always showed some tenderness toward him.

Kyuhyun also quickly became a good friend. Donghae had been surprised when he had found out that the teen was two years younger than him. He was sarcastic, smarter than any kid of his age, and he was tall. He looked older and so Donghae didn't mind if Kyuhyun never used the formalities to talk to him.
 
For some strange reason, Kyuhyun was very eager to help him in his mission to tame and conquer Eunhyuk. It seemed like a game to him and he always had that weird smirk on his lips every time Donghae would try and approach the red haired teen.
But Donghae didn't mind, any help was welcomed.

Surprisingly enough, Kangin, Yesung and Zhoumi also turned out to be friendly with him. At first, Donghae had been a bit scared of Kangin but he had soon found our that, behind the rough appearance, Kangin was very soft hearted. Yesung was odd. Donghae couldn't understand the guy most of the time, but he quite liked him. He was funny. Zhoumi wasn't often there but when he was, he was nice to the brunet.

Yet, Heechul and Kyuhyun remained the ones he was the closest to.


I hope Eunhyukkie is in a good mood today! the brunet inwardly sighed as he stepped out of the bus. If he ignores me again, that will be very disappointing... Well, at least he doesn't tell me to leave him alone anymore! he grinned to himself.

Even if it was slow, there still was some progress. The first days, Eunhyuk had only been barking at him, throwing him some deathly glares and being all tense every time the brunet was around him. Then, as if he was getting used to the presence, the aggressivity slowly faded, only to be replaced by some sort of indifference.
 
Donghae couldn't understand why it was so hard for the other to just accept him and let them become friends (or even better, boyfriends!). It wasn't like Donghae was a despicable or odious person, right? Was it really hard to be his friend?

I just need to try harder, the brunet would just keep repeating to himself over and over again, never losing his determination. He'll soon fall for me!
And just like that, his spirit was boosted again and ready to keep his mission going.


His feet quickened their pace as he caught the sight of Heechul and Eunhyuk standing in front of a shoes shop, waiting for him. He grinned happily, trying not to care too much about Eunhyuk's usual grumpy expression.

The red-head was dazzlingly handsome, just as usual. He was wearing some skinny ripped jeans and a simple sleeveless white sweater. His bright red locks were messy but it looked good, it accentuated his charming features. If it wasn't for his scary and fierce gaze, people would have flirted with him for sure.
More than once, Donghae had found himself mentally praising the older teen's beauty and sometimes he couldn't help but stare at Eunhyuk's face for some long minutes. Which always greatly annoyed the latter.

As he kept approaching, the two others finally noticed him. Heechul waved at him happily, shouting his name and startling a few people around them. Eunhyuk, on the other hand, just reacted like he usually did: his face showed no expression and he just stared at Donghae as the younger closed up the distance between them.

Those eyes, Donghae never missed to shiver every time they would land on him. Eunhyuk's eyes were something Donghae couldn't explain with words, but they could make him feel all giddy inside. They were dark and deep. Sometimes, when the red-head was angry or upset, they could throw daggers at you, but most of the time it was impossible to read through them. Not that they were inexpressive but the fire burning into the black pits couldn't be decrypted. And so, every time Eunhyuk would stare at him, Donghae would find himself drowning into the intensity of his gaze, without being able to know what Eunhyuk was thinking.
It was hypnotizing, and yet quite frustrating.

And as he finally reached them, Donghae kept the eye contact with the red-head, trying to hide his flustered feelings behind his usual childish smile.

"Hi Eunhyukkie!" he greeted the other teen, watching him with wide eyes and feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He waited a few seconds for an answer but Eunhyuk just kept looking at him with the same undecipherable look. "Hi Hyung", he quietly added, averting his eyes to Heechul.

"Hi Donghae", the elder said back and smiled at him fondly. "How was school today?"

"It was okay!" the brunet replied with a cute smile, before he turned to Eunhyuk. "I got a B in maths! I was good, right?!" he grinned widely, secretly hoping to be praised.

Eunhyuk's eyes moved to his mouth, staring at the stretched lips for a moment, until he turned his face and looked away.

"Whatever", he mumbled.

Donghae's smile slightly faded but quickly came back on his face when he felt Heechul ruffling his hair tenderly.

"You were very good", the elder nodded. "Don't mind him, he's jealous because he's stupid and at school."

"Shut up! That's the pot calling the kettle black", the red haired teen grunted, glaring at his friend. "As if you were smarter than me!"

"I'm smart. If my grades it was because I stopped going to school. But you, you stopped going to school because your grades . This is different", the elder calmly stated, cocking up a provocative eyebrow.

Eunhyuk glared at him, while Donghae's eyes traveled back and forth between the two of them. He had always wondered why they never talked about school, or why they always had free time, instead of being in class like him.

"You stopped school?" he inquired with curiosity.

"I did, a couple years ago", Heechul shrugged. "Hyuk's still in high school, he just doesn't go there so much."

"Why?" Donghae asked again, this time turning to the red-head.

The latter just shrugged and looked away, brows knitted together. "Whatever."

"But school's funny!" Donghae insisted. "Don't you miss your friends?"

Eunhyuk snorted. "What friends?" he breathed out, so low Donghae barely heard him. "Those dickheads, they aren't my friends... I hate them..."

Donghae was about to ask more but Heechul stopped him before he could utter a single word, wrapping an arm around the brunet's shoulders.

"He hates school", the elder answered Donghae's silent question. "And he doesn't fit very well. Let's just skip this subject, before we make him angry."

Donghae nodded, because he really didn't want to make Eunhyuk upset and in a worse mood, but he was still a bit intrigued by what he had just learned. He wondered why Eunhyuk didn't like school and why he seemed so displeased just thinking about it. Didn't he have friends? Didn't he have fun? Donghae always had fun, he loved school and he loved his class-mates. But there again, Eunhyuk was more of a loner and he was rude and fierce. Donghae thought that it wouldn't be surprising if he didn't have any friends, and the thought saddened him.

"Let's go", Heechul suddenly pushed him to walk, breaking the heavy silence.

Donghae found himself dragged along by the elder teen towards the mall. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, making sure Eunhyuk was following them, and indeed the red-head was quietly walking behind them.


They just wandered inside the mall for a while. After some time, Donghae managed to escape from Heechul's grip and carefully approached Eunhyuk, who didn't even reacted when the brunet came to walk along with him.

Because he knew that Eunhyuk wouldn't start talking, or even replying if he asked him some question, he began to talk about his day. He told the taller teen how he had almost missed the bus, what he had eaten for lunch, or about that annoying teacher who always gave them too much homework.

Surprisingly enough, Eunhyuk didn't say anything. Well, it wasn't surprising that he didn't reply, but Donghae expected him to at least tell him to shut up, or snap at him to let him know that he didn't care. But Eunhyuk just kept walking in silence, not trying to push the brunet away. He didn't seem to be listening, but neither did he seem annoyed by Donghae's blabbering.

Donghae wasn't sure if the other was even aware of his presence.
He pouted, gazing at the red-head with narrowed eyes, until a mischievous smile came to stretch up his thin lips.

"Are you ignoring me again?" he asked, purposely making his voice sounding a bit sulking. Eunhyuk just kept walking, watching the shops with a blank expression. "That means yes, right?" Donghae added, still not receiving any answer. "I knew it!" he went on, and his smile widened. "It means you want to go on a date with me, right?"

Eunhyuk's head snapped on the side, instantly reacting to the words.

"How would that mean I want to go on a date with you?!" he barked defensively.

"Oh? So you were listening!" Donghae only snapped back, pointing a finger at the red-head. "When people talk to you, you need to pay attention to them!"

Eunhyuk snorted and looked away again.

"Why do you pretend to ignore me if you're listening?" Donghae puffed his cheeks. "It's rude", he added with a little pout.

Eunhyuk glanced