//Tiff//

I looked back just as Taemin came running from around the corner. At first I hadn't even noticed he had been left behind. I don't know if he still feels the same for me as he had...all day he showed little interest in me. Maybe it was all just too good to be true.

He skipped up behind me, pulling his pants up as he often did. You just can't find pants small enough for his tiny waist. Hair bobbing as he slowed to a walk beside Key, I thought I saw him glance at me, but as soon as I blinked, his head was turned in the other direction. He got over me. I should've accepted his offer at the hospital. Now it's too late.

But it's ok, because were friends again. I missed that. Soon-Yi had taken that away...then she'd brought it back.

I felt Mae hook arms with me as hands covered my eyes. Mae tugged me along and I blindly hoped she didn't make me run into someone. I smelled a variety of smells as we passed what must have been the restaurants, and suddenly I felt hungry and was tempted to pull the hands from my eyes and buy some food.

"Im hungry!" I complained.

"Shhh, we'll feed you later, I promise," said Key's voice from behind me. Ah yes, the baby soft hands on my face that smelled sweet should have made it obvious who was blinding me.

Soon, the group stopped, and suddenly I realized I was cold. Why would I be cold?

Suddenly the hands were removed from my eyes. I blinked so my eyes could adjust, not able to see where I was yet.

Soon, I could make out a white circle that was the floor, shadows of people gliding quickly accross the floor as if their feet weren't even toughing the ground. Oh no.

"I can't ice skate!" I said, realizing my voice came across more panicky than I had intended.

"Sure you can! I'm paying!" Jonghyun said pulling my hand.

"No, I mean I have NO idea how to ice skate!" I pleaded but Jonghyun was already dragging me to the counter to check out skates.

"Don't worry, we'll show you! Shinee are pros at skating," he bragged, as I, not at all reassured, gave into his tugging, knowing I was nowhere near as strong as him.

"What sizes?" Asked the fat man on the other side of the counter. I sighed.

"231 mm." Jonghyun just stared at me.

"You have very small feet!" he teased. I just shrugged. Not that small. People in America had told me I had small feet when they found out I was a size 5 1/2 too, but it doesn't really matter.

The fat man, who I just realized had a mullet, placed a small pair of shoes with blades protruding from the bottoms onto the counter as Jonghyun ordered his own size and payed the man.

Soon all of my friends were getting their skates as I sat down trying to put on the heavy shoes. I don't know why it was so difficult, but I just could not figure out how to get my foot in the small hole of the shoe.

Suddenly there was someone standing in front of me, stilted on nearly invisible metal blades so that it almost looked like they were flying. My gaze traveled up skinny legs and tiny torso, until my eyes met Taemin's. He smiled and bent down (how he could possibly bend over and still balance on those ultra thin blades blew my mind) and grabbed one shoe and tugged at the laces, opening the hole just wide enough for me to shove my foot in. He tied the laces back up and I felt my shoe tighten around my foot. He did the same with the other shoe, but for some reason, no matter how hard I shoved, I still could not get my foot into the shoe. I huffed, frustrated.

"Easy, just slide it in nice and easy," Taemin's voice soothed as he held my foot delicately, as if he thought the slightest pressure might shatter my foot, like an empty egg shell. He slid my foot into the shoe, then looked up to smile at me.

"Like Cinderella." He said only to me. I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach. What a thing to say!

He's flirting! I may still have a chance! He finished lacing up the shoe and took my hands and pulled upward, trying to get me to stand. My legs wobbled as I rose, wondering how I was even standing. He kept my hands in his as he lead me, walking backwards, amazing me even more at his balance. I took baby steps toward the rest of my group, who were still preoccupied in tying their own skates.

"Wow, she got ready before me!" Jonghyun remarked, looking up only a moment from his large shoes.

"I had help," I said, knowing I actually did nothing.

"C'mon, lets get some practice in before the rink is crowded." Taemin tried to pull me to the ice.

"N-no! How bout, I just watched the first time?" I begged, none too eager to make a fool out of myself. Taemin smiled and shrugged.

"As you wish." And he let go of my hands, backing away from me, reaching the ice, still looking into my eyes, smiling. He skated backwards away from me, one foot carrying him halfway around the rink before he switched feet. It looked so effortless as he flashed by me again in a matter of seconds, still backwards. Still smiling I saw him close his eyes and lean his head back, opening his arms a bit. He was- beautiful, there was simply no other way to put it. I gazed in wonder as his thin body zipped across the floor, now he was swaying from side to side, almost looking like he was slow dancing with no one. Suddenly he skidded to a stop in front of me, face slightly pink from the cold.

"You see? It's easy." he said breathlessly. I was convinced. It looked so...natural, like there was nothing to it at all. I nodded and grabbed his hands to steady me, and he slowly backed onto the ice again, this time with me. He guided me a few feet before-

THUD! I landed flat on my face, completely shocked, I didn't even remember letting go of Taemin's hand! I looked up at him completely embarrassed, hoping he would think my blush was just from the cold. I stood up, instantly regretting coming onto the ice as I stumbled backwards. Taemin caught me by the elbow and I fell forward into his stomach and he just held me there for a few seconds as I tried to stand. How had he made this look so easy, so...possible?

I noticed he hadn't laughed and I was sooo thankful for that. My legs would not stay still as he brought me further forward so we were maybe ten feet from the gap in the wall between the rink and my friends-safety. But I knew I couldn't get across that ten foot span alone, and I didn't want to look pathetic and ask Taemin to take me back. So I just let him pull me, stumbling and losing my balance perpetually.

We stopped inching on the ice as Taemin brought me to the wall where I could hold myself up by the railing. I could hear my heavy breathing and wondered how he had supported not only himself, but me, and still hadn't broken a sweat!

"Hold your legs still and just let me pull you, dont try, just close your eyes until your comfortable." Taemin said patiently. I looked at him, then closed my eyes, still shaking with heavy breaths. I felt his warm hands grab mine yet again and I focused on them, focused on the warmth of our skin touching. Soon I felt the ground moving beneath me and I followed my instructions, I stiffened my legs so that they would not steer me in random directions.

I let myself float for a second, and then there was no one...no one but me, and the warmth of those hands-Taemin's hands. In the magic of the moment I opened my eyes. Taemin was smiling at me, each pearly tooth gleaming, looking especially white in contrast to the dirty ice. Suddenly I realized just how fast we were going and I heard my breath catch, my knees buckled and I fell backwards, clutching at Taemin's arm. When I landed flat on my back I realized I had pulled Taemin down with me and he fell on me, as we still slid, face to face. Oh God he's on top of me! My mind was racing! I tried to steady my breathing and I prayed he couldn't feel how warm my skin was getting. He put an hand on either side of my head and picked himself up just enough to have his face hover but three inches from my own, staring into my eyes. He quickly stood himself up in a way that was almost inhumanly graceful. Show off. I felt a shiver go up my spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Taemin offered me his hands, but I grabbed at the wall, trying to save myself from any further embarrassment...didn't want to pull Taemin on top of me again.

Taemin smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, it's your first time! No one gets it on their first time!" he comforted me.

"Did you?" I tested. His smile only broadened.

"Well THAT'S just because I'm oh-so-talented!" He teased. I couldn't help laughing, causing myself to fall back again, catching the wall just in time. This time Taemin started laughing, bringing his hand up to his jaw the way he always does when he's really laughing. It was too beautiful to be offensive, the way his laughter chimed. If you could see laughter, his would look like silver glitter. I felt myself smiling. He held out a hand, still laughing, and I took it, knowing he meant nothing by laughing at me. He was just enjoying himself...something I should be doing. Here I was with the most amazing guy in the world, and I was worried about embarassing myself! I stood up and let Taemin stand next to me rather that in front, this time he faced the same way as I was, holding my hand, and he took off with me, and I let him. As we flew accross the ice, I looked at him, he was smiling, eyes closed, hair blown back exposing his forhead and eyebrows furrowed like he was focused. I was doing it, I was ice skating. I hadn't even realized until now that the rest of the group was on the ice. I looked at the red clock...it had been a half hour since Taemin first brought me onto the ice. How time flies when-

"JONGHYUN OPPA!!!!" I heard a girl scream. Taemin's eyes flashed open as more girls started screaming five different names in a harmony of high pitches.

"TAEMIN! TAEMIIIIIIN! MINHO OPPA!! KEY! KEEEEY! ONEW!!!! KEEEY! JONGHYUN! MINHO!" Taemin was now rushing us toward the exit of the ice rink, where Onew was already fighting off a stampede of girls on ice. Somehow we all managed to escape alive, quickly tossing off our skates and just leaving them on the ground, not even bothering to put our own shoes back on, just grabbing them and running out of the building, out of the mall, rushing into the parking lot where the van pulled up right in front of us, as if waiting for us.

As soon as the door was opened, I jumped in...