It took way longer than it should have, but sure enough, Hakyeon succeeded.

Hakyeon had finally convinced Taekwoon to come watch one of their dance competitions. It took a lot of doing, seeing as how Taekwoon was very reluctant to go. It almost seemed like nothing could change his mind. With Hyuk's help (who Hakyeon noticed that Taekwoon was beginning to have a soft spot for), Taekwoon agreed to go.

He finally figured that it couldn't be that bad.

Taekwoon found himself slowly heading into the auditorium before he received a text message.

Come to our locker rooms when you get here! ^^

Taekwoon let out sigh as he read Hakyeon's message. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket before heading to where he was told. He kept his head down as he walked the short distance to the locker room.

"Looks like the freak showed up," Taekwoon heard someone whisper. He pretended that he didn't hear. He knew whose voice that was. It was one of Dohoon's friends. Taekwoon wondered what In Jun was doing here before he remembered that In Jun was dating one of the girls on the dance team. He kept walking.

Taekwoon was relieved when he finally made it to the locker room. He bit his lip before opening the door. He saw Hakyeon, Wonsik, and Hyuk, seven other members of the dance team, and not surprisingly, Jaehwan and Hongbin. Taekwoon doubted that they were even allowed to be in here, but with Hakyeon as captain he was probably allowed to bend the rules a little.

Hongbin was carrying a camera. Hakyeon, Wonsik, Jaehwan, and Hyuk would pose every few seconds, wanting Hongbin to take a picture of them, loving that his camera printed polaroids right on the spot. 

"Taekwoon!" Hakyeon yelled as he saw the quiet boy approaching them. "I knew you would come!"

Taekwoon smiled nervously.

"Thank you so much for coming," Hakyeon continued. "You'll see. Those hours you've been spending tutoring me won't be put to waste, okay?"

"Promise?" Taekwoon teased.

Hakyeon raised his right hand. "I promise."

"Hey, Hongbin," Wonsik said. "Let's use that old fashioned camera to remember this moment."

"That's perfect," Hyuk said, pulling Taekwoon a bit closer so they could all pose together.

Hongbin laughed at Taekwoon's behavior. It was clear that he would rather be anywhere but here.

Hongbin held up the camera, ready to take the picture. "Hana, dul, seht," he counted before snapping the picture. He took the polaroid, waiting for the picture to completely show up. "Nice," he said with a smile before showing it to everyone else."

"We need to take another one with all six of us," Jaehwan suggested.

Hakyeon nodded. "Good idea," he said, looking around the locker room for whoever was left. "Hyunsik-ah!" he called to one of the younger ones. "Come here, please."

Hyunsik obediently ran towards the group's direction. "Yes, Hyung," he said once he approached Hakyeon.

Hakyeon took Hongbin's camera and held it out to Hyunsik. "Can you take our picture?" he asked.

Hyunsik obeyed, accepting the camera and taking the picture.

"Ah, it turned out great," Hakyeon gushed. He held out the picture to Taekwoon. "Keep it," he said.

"What?" Taekwoon asked in surprise.

"Keep the picture," Hyuk said. "You've never been there when we take pictures together. This one is for you."

"Thank you," Taekwoon finally said to them as he took the picture.

Before anything else could be said, someone had entered into the locker room. "Five minutes, you guys!"

Hakyeon sighed. "That's our cue," he said to Taekwoon, Jaehwan, and Hongbin.

"Fighting!" Hongbin cheered. "I know you all will do well."

"Thanks," Hakyeon said. "Now go find seats together, fast!"

The three of them obeyed, leaving the room and heading to the auditorium. They were able to find seats together that were close to the front. Taekwoon sat in between Jaehwan and Hongbin, glad that he didn't have to sit next to a complete stranger in the crowded auditorium. He hated crowds to begin with, but he'd be okay as long as he was close to people he trusted.

Taekwoon swallowed. People he trusted.

Taekwoon was amazed at how well composed he was. Being in a room full of people made him feel suffocated. Oddly, he didn't feel that way knowing that Hongbin and Jaehwan were with him.

He didn't feel like the room was getting smaller and smaller, ready to swallow him whole. He didn't feel like the air was being mercilessly out of his lungs. He didn't feel his head spinning.

He felt calm because he was next to two people he now considered to be his friends. 

Taekwoon really like this feeling.

He was completely relaxed around his friends and it felt nice.

To top it all off, the competition went better than Taekwoon thought it would. In all honesty, another reason he was afraid to come was because he thought he would get bored. But after a while, he was really impressed. He couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride swell up in him as he watched his friends dance, recieving cheers from the crowd. Of course the cheers got louder for a brief moment when Wonsik pulled up his shirt and revealed his abs. The screams and cheers were mostly from the girls but that wasn't surprising at all.

Jaehwan leaned over to Taekwoon. "This is why our school's dance team is so famous!" he shouted so his words could be heard over all the noise. 

Taekwoon smiled at the comment before he continued watching. 

Hakyeon was right. Those times they spent studying together weren't wasted. 

And this was the most fun Taekwoon has had on a Friday night in a very long time.

"We're going to regionals!" Wonsik yelled as he threw his hands in the air.

"I'm so excited!" Hyuk responded.

"I'm nervous," Hakyeon admitted. "Victory High School also made it to regionals." He didn't mean to kill the mood, but the anxiety was there.

Taekwoon's eyes slightly widened at the name. "V-Victory High School?" he asked, hoping he heard wrong.

Hakyeon nodded. "Their dance team is no joke," he explained. "They've w