FALL

I'll plant a seed in the fall.....

Meeting people has always been really hard for me. Living with a rare lung disease didn't make things any better either. Because of it, mom had been afraid of me attending school in case I had an attack. I was always watched and cared for as a result. However, I dont know the reaon, but mom suddenly changed her mind and let me attend my senior year at high school. I've always thought it was because she felt my time was ending soon. She probably wanted to get me to experience my teen years even if I'd suddenly die. But it was time that this bird flew out of the nest, even if it was with a broken wing. I'm thankful I got to attend school because I met a bunch of amazing people. Each have found a special permanent spot in my heart. However, there's one person that I remember so vividly. The boy with the jet black hair, piercing eyes, and the voice as gentle as a lamb.

It was the year 2013...

His name was Zitao Hwang. I first spotted him sitting by himself in the classroom. I had just entered the classroom and taken a look around to take note of the different cliques already formed. For the most part, everyone had seemed to get along. There would be boys flirting with girls, boys wrestling with each other, girls gossiping, and girls sharing their beauty secrets. Yes, everyone had their place in the class, except for him. I was nervous and afraid I wouldn't get to be friends with anyone. To my luck, I ended up getting surrounded by a couple of curious guys throwing me compliments.

"She has pretty eyes!"

"Her skin's absolutely flawless.:

To my rescue, a girl got up from her desk with a roll of her eyes and pushed aside the others and pulled me free. She welcomed me with a warm smile. That girl is my best friend today. She's Michelle who I formed a special bond with. She took me under her wing and took the time to introduce me to all of her friends and the classmates. I didn't even notice, but my attention was caught up on the boy sitting by himself. Why was it that I was able to make friends so easily, but he who was here longer couldn't?

"That's Zitao," Michelle whispered, bringing my attention back to her.

"Huh? Oh... I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare... I just wondered why he was by himself..."

The other girls snickered at him lowly. Michelle bit her lip and answered, "He's a natural loser."

I swear at that moment, Tao (who was resting his chin on his hand) darted a glare at her.

The girls shuddered from his ice cold stare. They continued to lowly tell me about what they knew about him. Some told me he was the gang leader's son and he himself could be used as Korea's weapon of mass destruction with his wushu skills. They warned me to keep away and had no doubt I wouldn't since his aura and stare was enough to leave you with week's worth of nightmares. Quickly we ended up switching to a different topic, several times I'd end up laughing and feigning interest for all my interest was towards the boy in the backseat of the class, the boy who let out a sigh and stared out the window in search for something. 

When the teacher came in, he made me introduce myself to the class. Then, he assigned my seat to be the one next to Tao. The whole class stirred up a bit I could even hear the apologetic tone coming from the teacher as he told me, "I'm sorry, that's the last seat we have."

I just smiled and bowed my head before taking a seat beside Tao.To be honest, I had been afraid taking that seat after hearing the girls tell me a smidge about him. It wasn't until I heard him release another sigh and scooting a bit further away from me to look at the autumn leaves falling down, that I was curious to see who he really was. He couldn't really be that bad.

⚘

That day, I ended up getting smacked on the face as result of a flying kid. I let out a squeak and fell back into my friend, Michelle's arms. The kid that had smacked me in the face was a product of a fist fight with the one and only, Zitao. When I had entered the cafeteria there was a crowd around Zitao and the other kid. I witnessed my first high school fight. The other kid, went by the name of Kyungsoo and even though he was small he could put up a real fight. I saw Kyungsoo throwing a bunch of fists Tao's way. He was angry and out of control, making his attacks weak and messy. Tao had simply put up his arms blocking all of Kyunsoo's blows without struggle. It wasn't until he grabbed Kyungsoo's arm and twisted it behind him that people made a real fuss about the fight. Tao released his grip on Kyungsoo's arm and walked backwards. However, the little guy wasn't giving up so easily he launched himself at Tao starting send Kicks his way. Tao spun around and blocked his kicks with his feet. In order to get away from him and not crash into the crowd of people, Tao spun in the air, twirling and landing on his feet on the opposite side of Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo turned around, angry at his disappearing partner and ran back Tao's way. Tao responded by pushing Kyungsoo against the wall. One of Kyungsoo's friends, chen, ran out to interfere, but Kyungsoo had kicked him accidentally. This caused him to come flying out at me, who was watchign the fight with alerted eyes. He flew out my way and his arm smacked me straight in the face. I looked up and took note of Tao's scared face. He blinked and widened his eyes a bit. With a blush on my cheeks, I lowered my eyes. All I heard was Tao's footeps walking away.

"What a jerk, he hit a girl!" Angry snarls were heard everywhere.

Chen helped his friend Kyungsoo. "You never learn, Kyungsoo. Don't mess with him. No matter if he spilled your food."

"It was homemade too." Kyungsoo spit out angrily.

I embarrasedly got up. "I'm okay." I let everyone know, my eyes lingered to the doorway where I could still get a glimpse of Tao. Tao was wiping his school uniform with a tired look. I could tell. Tao was Tired. He was sick of the way he was getting treated in this school. I bit my lip. I'm sure he's just misunderstood somehow. Everyone here is too judgemental, they haven't given the boy a chance to grow into something beautiful. I looked around at everyone dispersing. The guy friends all patting each other's back and congratulating Kyungsoo. They all looked happy being in each other's company. My eyes darted back at  the doorway and Tao slowly turned my way with sad eyes. I had blinked and then questioned whether I had seen tears in his eyes.

⚘

I'd say the first time I got a hint of the real Zitao was when I was sent out late at night to purchase milk from a gas station. 

I headed into the gas station, wrapping my coat tight around me. I could tell the winter months were approaching us. I snuggled into my scarf more before heading to the milk. As I was picking up the milk, I noticed the guy beside me hurry and do the same. He seemed to be doing it on purpose. As I looked up, I noticed it was a man with a beard and hair in a long ponytail. He was giving me a creepy smile it made me uncomfortable. I just bowed my head a little before hurrying to the counter. The guy at the register was a tall guy with black hair, spiked up a bit in the front. He must’ve been a bit older than me, but still young. He had nice, round eyes, and a teethy smile. He greeted me kindly, but kept his eyes at the suspicious guys.

I paid for the milk and headed out. I took a step out of the gas station and a few seconds after I left, I heard the bell ring also. The guys must’ve walked out after me, I looked at the window and noticed the guy shouting something to someone in the gas station in panic. Was I in trouble?

I squeezed my eyes shut and cursed myself for walking out this late at night. I hugged the cold milk and took a turn into my neighborhood. Suddenly I was grabbed and pulled into an alley. I squeaked and dropped the milk. The white liquid ended up spilling everywhere. I stared into the eyes of the guy from the gas station, his little posse right behind him. This was it, this was where I’d die. I squeezed my eyes tight, but then something else happened.  I was saved.

When I opened up my eyes, I looked around in the dark and noticed there was a fight going on. I stared as a tall guy in a hood was busy beating up the others.

“Picking up on school girls?” He muttered through his greeted teeth as he held the other guy by his neck. I heard him let out a scoff as the guy from the gas station squirmed around.

“Get away you filthy scum.” With a toss to the side, they all scurried off. 

When they were out of sight the man turned to look at me.

I jumped a little and looked into his eyes. To my surprise, it was Tao. Before I could speak out he replied.

“Miss, are you alright?”

He had no idea it was me. How could he when mother bundled me up with a scarf and coat. 

I gave him a nod of my head before walking closer. I was blushing at the moment.  He had a lovely, light voice that didn’t match with his appearance at all.

He looked down at the floor and saw the spilt milk. “Ah, the milk you bought went to waste.”

I could hear the sadness in his voice. He seemed to truly care that my just purchased milk had fallen onto the floor.

I gave a small reply, “It’s okay.”

I slowly lifted my hand to give him a soft pat on the shoulder. He gave me a warm smile causing my eyes to widen. Zitao had just smiled at me.

“I'm gad." he replied with a nod before waving and heading back the way he came from.

I stood there for a bit watching his tall slim figure walk back to the gas station, a smile on his face from doing a good deed.

I remember thinking. Is this really Hwang Zitao?

My heart sped up  a little as I walked out form the bookshelf and slowly approached him.

I couldn't help but smile as I squatted a little and peered at his sleeping face. That wasn’t the face of a criminal  at all, but the face of a sweet baby at rest. I let my eyes drizzle over his features and developed a small blush. He was actually quite handsome. He moves his head a little and my eyes widen. I was going to be seen. I paniced and cover my mouth, looking for where to hide.

He lifted his head up and opened his sleepy eyes, looking up.

I was already gone. I hid myself behind him next to the bookshelf, fearing for my life I’d be caught. My heart iwas drumming madly in my chest as I tried to squeeze myself tighter against the wall. I let in a sharp inhale at the sight of him turning his head slowly around. One more inch and I would've been caught. Suddenly, he stopped. I was eft there, holding my breath, eyes wide, and hands up near my mouth.

He suddenly revealed a crooked smile, his hair covering his eyes. Was he looking my way?

He didn't continue to turn my way fully. Instead, he picked up his backpack , slid it over his shoulder, and stretched  before heading out. I stayed in place for a bit, afraid he would suddenly come back. I relaxed my tense composure and slid against the wall. That was close.

Why exactly was I hiding away from him anyways? Lots of people come to the library. I held my blushing cheeks. No, I didn’t want to be seen because I wouldn’t know what to say to him. All I wanted to tell him was that I’m here, I’m his friend, I could care. He’s not alone.

I got up and noticed he left his pencil. I picked it up and smiled, letting out a small chuckle. The pencil was a white pencil with pandas all over it and the top eraser was in a panda shape. I covered my mouth.

Tao, you really aren’t what people think, huh? What other little things can I learn from you just by observing you?

I thought back when he almost took notice of me. One more inch and we would’ve made eye contact for sure.

I stuffed his pencil into my backpack and slowly made my way home that fall evening. On my way home, I took notice of all the trees shedding their old leaves, getting ready for the cold winter ahead. I wrapped my scarf around my neck tighter and hurried home, making a small wish in my head. One day, I hope he will see me.

A/N: This story will be in four parts. Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.

Answered questions:

1) Tao is seen as an outcast from the korean student's because he's a bit different being chinese. 

2) The lung disease that Rebeca has is unknown and there is no treatment.

4) This story is Rebeca remembering the year she met Tao and is not in the present.

5) yes you can subscribe, upvote, and comment OuO lol.

-iloveyoualways