[CONTENTID1]

twenty-eight: not exactly homecoming queen [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

["They were purposely trying to attack someone. Attack them or send them a warning."] [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Juyeon wished more than anything that she never went to that class. Now she had curious looks following her down hallways, Exo bugging her to reveal her 'emotional trauma', and Professor Fear herself had taken to surprising Juyeon for impromptu 'personal sessions' at lunch.

"How have you been, Juyeon, dear?" Fear asked kindly, pouring her a cup of tea. Juyeon sunk low in her chair, wishing she could just go back to the dining hall and eat with Minjun and Seoyun.

"Fine," she muttered.

"Now, let's just talk about your past here at the Academia before your involvement with the East Wing, shall we?" She gave her a bright, glowing smile and Juyeon scowled harder.

Why was she talking as though Juyeon's life before meeting the PCs was separate or unimportant? Sure, it was hard to remember what her life was like before all the crazy, but god, PCs were just so full of themselves.

"You know, not full of super mind powers," she said curtly, refusing to touch the cup of hot tea placed in front of her. "I had a group of people I ate with and studied with and could potentially call 'friends'. I had a particularly close friend one might refer to as a 'best friend'. I studied, did homework, survived having three roommates, and studied some more. I had top marks and occasionally waged war against the slackers. End of story."

"You talk as those these friends you made were solely out of convenience. Was your friendship with these normal students any different from your friendship with the PCs here?"

"Yeah. I didn't have to worry about the normals plotting my death."

Fear just smiled and made a little note on her clipboard. Ugh, she even decorated the back with stickers. "And your 'best friend'? Would you like to talk about her?"

"Her name was Suji and she had blue hair." Juyeon refused to say anything more.

"Did you ever feel like your life was more monotone or dull compared to your current situation? Did you prefer your previous lifestyle?"

"I liked not being hated by the majority of my Wing."

"Even with your new friends now?" Fear prompted. "Does the people in your life make up for your dangerous situation?"

Juyeon exploded.

"What are you trying to make me say?" she demanded. "Yes, I have a lot more fun here than I did in West Wing, but you know what? I liked being bored! I liked that monotone and dull life, because at least things made sense. At least I knew where I stood in society and how my future would be paved. At least I knew exactly how hard I had to work and how much I had to do to get the marks I needed for a future university scholarship. And you know what? I'm sick of this whole 'wow-my-life-sure-changed-since-meeting-these-boys' bull! If anything, we became friends out of convenience! Convenience that they're curious about normals and that I need protection! What's so different about that and the friends I had back in my 'old' life, which was literally me two months ago and is still the exact same life!"

There was a long silence.

"I'll just make a note of that," Fear said brightly, scribbling away. Her pencil lead squeaked against paper.

Juyeon threw her head back and groaned.

~*~

"On a scale of one to ten, how ed am I for this math test?" Baekhyun hissed frantically to Juyeon. He had finally been discharged from the nurse's office under strict orders by Takahashi to be exempt from physical exertion for at least another week.

Of course, nearly dying meant nothing to Professor Horror, who decided to give Baekhyun the trigonometric identity test just like everyone else.

"Probably a twelve," Juyeon said back.

"Don't tease, Yeonie, I'm serious."

"Okay, eleven point five."

Baekhyun groaned and ran his hands threw his hair. Juyeon felt kind of bad. He still looked unhealthy and (excusing the morbid pun) bony, and Juyeon just couldn't stand seeing sickly-looking people. Reminded her too much of the past, holding her mom's hand as she waited outside hospital rooms. "Hey, it'll be okay. We went over the notes―briefly―since Wednesday, you'll make it. If not, it's not the end of the world. You'll still have plenty of chances to bring your marks up."

"Really?" Baekhyun looked at her with sparkling, hopeful eyes.

Juyeon personally believed that every single mark counted and Baekhyun would up his grades for sure, but she held her tongue for the sake of her friend and lied. "Yes, Baekhyun, really."

Baekhyun sighed in relief and turned around. Juyeon felt a pencil poke her arm. "You're really laying it on thick."

"Quiet," she hissed at Kai. "If I pressure him, it'll only make him concentrate less. He just has to do the best he can and not screw up any future tests."

"All right, smart girl," Kai said with a grin, leaning an elbow onto his desk and propping himself up with one hand. His head tilted sideways, allowing some messy strands of hair to fall into his eyes and flustering Juyeon badly. She wondered if these model-like poses were on purpose or totally natural. She didn't know which was worse. "How ed am I for this test, then?"

"I've seen your current average. You're already hellbound, there's not much I can do for you."

"Quiet now," Horror snapped. "Heads down, face the front. No more talking. If I see anyone glance sideways, you're out of here with no second chances."

There was a little grumbling, but everyone fell silent quickly. Nobody wanted to incu