It took about ten minutes for Mr. Kim to be able to stand normally and not look pale and shaky.  In that time the students had taken to gossiping about the little show that they had just had the priviledge to see.

 

 

“That was amazing,” Minseok said, his tone showing nothing but admiration for what Saya had done.

 

“No one is going to mess with her now, at least not in this class,” Kris added, glancing over to where the girl in question was sitting with her group.

 

The other three joined him in staring, noticing that she seemed considerably happier.  It even looked like there was a soft glow coming from her – distorting the air around her the way heat would – but that was dismissed as being a trick of the light.

 

“Who would’ve thought such a delicate looking girl could pack such a mean punch,” Yixing muttered.

 

“There’s definitely more than meets the eye to her,” Lu Han said absentmindedly. 

 

He still couldn’t shake the feeling he had experienced earlier.  He had felt threatened when Saya had been fighting.  There was something wrong with the way her eyes had seemed to glow, and the speed with which she had moved.  He just couldn’t quite put what was wrong into words though, so he kept his observations to himself.

 

“Students!”

 

Lu Han pulled his gaze away from Saya, and looked over to where the teacher was standing.

 

Pfft, he looks worse for wear, Luhan chuckled, observing the after affects of Mr. Kim’s "demonstration" match with Saya.

 

“For the next two weeks we will be pairing up and doing some practice sparring.  And no, you will not be choosing your partners. I have already come up with a list of match-ups,” he held up a long piece of paper.

 

There were groans of protest.

Lu Han figured it had a lot to do with the fact that the other students would probably try and avoid Saya.

Well, not that I would want to end up with her either…well, I wouldn’t necessarily mind, but I’d really prefer not to have my handed to me if I can help it.

 

“You will be rotating through partners, but the partners you are assigned to won’t change.  So don’t bother trying to convince me to assign you to a friend,” Mr. Kim continued, slowly building up his voice again.

 

 

“Wonder who we got,” Kris voiced, his expression bored, as he watched the teacher tape up the list.

 

“Let’s go see then,” Yixing said, letting out a low grunt as he stood up.

 

The others quickly got up to follow, slipping between the underclassmen, moving towards the front of the group that was surrounding the list.

 

“Let’s see…” Minseok ran his finger down the paper.  “Ah! Okay, found us!”

 

“Who do we have?” Luhan asked.

 

“Well, we all rotate with Saya,” Minseok said, his eyes widening a bit.

 

“Seriously?” Kris groaned.

 

Yixing chuckled.  “Relax Yi Fan, it’s not like she has any reason to go after you like she did with our teacher,” he paused and looked over at their pink haired friend, “Luhan on the other hand, should be worried.”

 

Kris made a face at Yixing’s use of his real name, but shrugged because he decided that his friend was right.

 

Luhan ran a shaky hand through his hair, remembering the chilling feeling he had gotten from watching Saya fight.  Like watching a predator stalk it’s prey.

“She’s going kill me.  She’s actually going to kill me.”

 

Minseok gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.  “You did this to yourself my friend.”

 

 

“Okay students! Get into your first groups and pick a mat!  You’re just practicing basic punches and blocks!”

 

A student raised their hand.  “Weren’t we also going to practice kicks and hol- ”

 

“No kicking and no holds!” he snapped, cutting the kid off.

 

 

“His pride must be hurting,” a new voice commented.

Lu Han turned to see Sehun walking over.

 

“Yo, Sehunnie,” he smiled, greeting the younger boy. “I think we're paired together first.” 

 

Sehun walked closer to get a better view of the list of students.  “Haha!  You have Saya?”

 

Lu Han frowned and punched his dongsaeng on the arm.  “Shut up, don’t laugh!”

 

“That’s so priceless though,” Sehun cackled.

 

“Isn’t it?” Minseok smiled.

 

Lu Han hung his head in defeat when he realized that his friends weren’t going to leave him alone about the stupid stunt he pulled, or the fact that now he might just get beat up by the girl he had tried to hit on.

 

“Anyway, we should probably get moving guys,” Yixing said, tugging Minseok along with him.

 

“Wait, who am I up with first?” Kris asked, not having actually seen the list of names.

 

Minseok smirked, “Saya.”

 

Kris groaned.

 

Sehun laughed at the way they were all acting, considering that he was actually friends with the girl in question.  The fact that they were so nervous to be around her when she was very much a normal teenage girl – one who easily blushed if you got too close to her in fact – was very entertaining.

 

“C’mon hyung,” he said, giving Kris a smile and a push, “she’s not that bad when you get to know her.”

 

If anything, she’s actually really cute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saya waited patiently on her mat, seated with her legs folded.  She hadn’t bothered to rush over and check the list because she figured it would be easier for whoever she had to recognize her, versus the other way around.

 

I’m the only girl here, it shouldn’t be THAT hard to find me.

 

Just as she was thinking it, she sensed someone approaching her.  She heard him clear his throat and could easily imagine him awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

 

To see if she was right, she turned around and got a shock when she realized that she had to crane her neck – A LOT – to look up at the boy.

 

Holy ! Why is he so tall?!

 

“Um, hi,” the giant said when he noticed the way Saya was gaping at him.

 

Saya quickly closed that had fallen open, starting to recognize the male in front of her.

 

He’s one of Luhan’s friends…umm what was his name again?

 

“Kris,” he said, as if reading her mind.  He extended a hand out for her so that she could stand.

 

“Saya,” she replied, taking his hand and pulling herself up.  “Thank you.”

 

He gave her a nervous smile.  “No problem.”

 

She could sense the uneasiness and caution that was radiating from him.  It was obvious that he was worried about what she would do to him, his posture told her that much, although she didn't really get why.

It’s not like he’s done anything to me. 

 

“I don’t bite you know,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

 

Kris seemed to jump a little, startled by her tone.  He rubbed his neck again and looked away, almost like he was embarrassed.  Her suspicions were confirmed when Saya noticed the way his ears had reddened.

She raised an eyebrow at his actions, wondering how someone who had seemed so confident could actually be acting so…cute.

 

Saya sighed, realizing that they were going to get nowhere at this rate unless she did something – although she was still rather guarded about dealing with him.  She walked over to the tall blonde and gently tugged at his shirt sleeve.

 

“Come on, we should start.”

 

The look he gave her nearly caused her to burst out laughing.  He looked like a kid who had been caught trying to steal a cookie.

 

Seriously, so cute.

 

No longer apprehensive towards the older boy, she gave him a sweet smile and pulled on his arm more, dragging him to the center of the mat.

 

“Come on big boy, man up.”

 

He gave a grunt of disapproval at her choice of words, but complied nonetheless.

 

Once she had managed to maneuver Kris to the middle of the mat she began to adjust his stance.

She didn’t notice that she was manhandling him a bit too much until the older boy chuckled, drawing her attention up.  Saya craned her neck up to be met with a very amused pair of eyes.

 

“Having fun?” he asked, his deep voice rumbling in his chest.

 

Saya gulped, realizing that she was only about an inch or two from him and that his cologne smelled really, really good.

 

Oh god…

 

Saya awkwardly cleared , starting to back up when she felt a strong, well-toned arm snake around her waist holding her in place.

 

“You know,” Kris leaned closer to Saya’s face, purring seductively, “I don’t really mind you touching me.”

 

Saya gaped, her jaw dropping in an A+ rendition of a goldfish.  She was madly blushing, her whole body feeling warm.

 

This is ridiculous! How do you go from being cute one second to hot the next? What type of ridiculous transition is that!

 

Saya would’ve likely kept panicking if Kris hadn’t smirked and started laughing.  It was enough to shake her out of her stupor.

 

“Ugh,” Saya groaned, rolling her eyes and pushing Kris’ face away, “I almost forgot you’re friends with that idiot.”

 

Kris paled, knowing exactly what 'idiot' she was talking about, and remembering that the girl he was happily flirting with was a) dangerous and b) didn’t like Luhan one bit.

He was starting to worry that he had overstepped his boundaries when Saya flicked him on the forehead.  She gave him a lopsided smile when she saw how his eyes widened in surprise.

 

“Relax, I’m not going to blame you for your friend's behavior.”

 

Kris sighed and his tense shoulders visibly relaxed.

 

“Although I really think you should let go of me now,” Saya continued nonchalantly, “Afterall, I’d rather you didn’t give people the wrong idea.  Also, I think it’s in your best interest if I teach you some basics before we all switch partners so that you don’t get your handed to you by someone not nearly as kind as me.”

 

She finished by flipping her hair over her shoulder in an exaggerated motion, causing Kris to laugh.  When she clutched her neck in pain from accidentally pinching a muscle in the process, Kris laughed even harder, revealing a charming smile and a row of pearly whites.

 

“Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands in response to the glare she was giving him, even though he was still smiling uncontrollably.  “Where do you want to start then?”

 

Saya huffed, still slightly miffed at being laughed at, but conceded nonetheless.

“We start with blocks.”

 

“Can’t we start with something cooler? Like a round-house kick or something?” Kris whined, visibly more comfortable being around her now.

 

“If you can’t block someone you ruin your chances of being able to attack.”

 

“But- ”

“No.”

 

Kris grumbled but complied, allowing Saya to position his arms and legs into the proper stance.

 

“Okay,” Saya started, standing across from him in a similar position.  “Move your arm up to block like this when someone punches towards your face.”

 

Kris follows by raising his bent arm in front of his face like a visor.  “Like this?”

 

“Yeah.  The idea,” Saya pauses to show a few more blocks, “is to sweep the hit away.  Not necessarily stopping the hit but rather re-directing it. Just think of it like a windshield wiper swishing away water or leaves.”

Kris chuckled at her comparison and followed her example.  "Like swishing away water or leaves. Got it."

 

 

The two continued on like this, with Saya showing him a move and Kris trying his best to copy it.   Saya noted that although his gangly height made some of his movements a bit awkward, Kris was a relatively quick learner, allowing them to progress from blocks to some punches and even kicks.  Albeit Kris’ flexibility and balance left something to be desired, and he would fall, a lot, which left Saya constantly doubled over in laughter.

 

Saya had collapsed, trying to catch her breath from her latest fit after Kris’ fourth failed attempt at a proper round-house kick – which he had insisted on learning – when the teacher called for everyone to move on to their next partners.

 

“Good luck sunbaenim,” Saya chuckled when she finally could speak again, craning her neck to look up at Kris since she was still sitting on the mat.

 

Kris sighed but sent her a smile anyway, shaking his head slightly at the teasing tone in her voice. 

“Drop the ‘sunbaenim’, it doesn’t suit you,” he said, sending a wink her way before walking off to find his next partner, not giving her a chance to respond.

 

A small smile stayed on her lips.  "Look at him, trying to act cool. As if he wasn't flat on his two seconds ago.

 

“You could always beat him up a little,” a new voice said.

 

Saya turned in her spot to see a boy, one she recognized from having seen him with Lu Han and Kris at the beginning of class, standing next to her wearing a happy smile on his -- of course -- handsome face.

Saya hardly reacted to him, slowly becoming immune to the continuous appearance of attractive boys.

 

“Are you my next partner?”

 

The boy smiled wider, revealing two perfect dimples, and nodded.  “My name’s Yixing.”

 

His voice was sweet, and the way he spoke reminded her somewhat of Tao, Kris, and Lu Han.

“Saya…you’re not from here are you?”

 

Yixing chuckled, letting out a small grunt as he joined her on the mat.

“I’m from China, but my family wanted me to have the ‘cultural experience of studying in a different country’ so they sent me to school here,” he paused, “Is my accent that noticeable?”

 

Saya smiled and shook her head.  “Nah, although your name is a pretty good giveaway.”

 

“Ahh,” he said, slowly nodding his head, “Right.”

 

Saya chuckled at the older boy, noting that he appeared to be a little on the spacey side.

 

Saya was about to ask if he wanted to start practicing when the loud bang of a body suddenly hitting a mat from somewhere nearby startled both her and Yixing.

Looking for the source of the noise, Saya found a beaming Kris looking down at a groaning boy that she quickly recognized to be his friend with the soft looking cheeks.  As if sensing her eyes on him, Kris looked over at her and gave her a thumbs-up, his chest puffed up in pride.

 

Saya couldn’t help but smile and laugh as the friend that Kris had managed to successfully knock down, swung a leg out and caused the taller male to topple onto the mat also, before then proceeding to tackle him and put him into a headlock.

 

Haa~ He’s a bit too cocky.  He still has a lot to learn before he can actually use those moves on someone who actually knows some form of martial arts.  She smiled softly at the scene of the two friends who had resorted to pinching and yanking on each other’s hair.  He’s really not so bad.  Too flirty, yeah, but still a nice guy.

 

 

While Saya was looking over at Kris, Yixing was taking the opportunity to quietly observe her.

He had heard from the others about how Lu Han had pissed her off and how they had later heard her throwing a tantrum in the locker room.  Judging by how she handled their teacher earlier, he came to the obvious conclusion that there was more than meets the eye to her – especially taking in to account that eerie feeling he had gotten from her when she had been fighting.

 

“You’re a very interesting girl, Saya-ssi,” he said, his gaze locked on her as her eyes widened slightly.

 

She turned to him and titled her head to the side, and action that was undeniably adorable and that had a smile forming on Yixing’s lips.

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well,” Yixing started, leaning onto his propped up arms that were resting on his knees, “For one, it’s the first day of school, your first day here, and you’re already friends with some of the most popular guys in school.”

 

“Hmm, I was surprised by that also,” Saya shrugged, “guess I just have a magnetic personality~”

 

Yixing laughed at her cheesy line, his dimples showing again, causing a faint blush to ghost over Saya’s cheeks.

 

“Second,” Yixing continued, allowing a small smirk to grace his features when he noticed the slight blush. “Despite the fact that we’re friends with someone you seem to already dislike, you’re acting completely normal with us.  You even seemed to get along well with Kris.”

 

“I’m not going to just judge you guys based on the company you keep.  Although, considering that you guys are also apparently friends with Taeyeon I definitely could.”

 

“We aren’t really friends with Taeyeon,” Yixing snorted.  “It’s more like we were friends in middle school, and then she decided to cling to us thanks to a few misunderstood advances.”

 

“Huh?” Saya gave him a confused expression.

 

“She thought we were flirting with her, and one thing led to another, now she thinks she owns us,” he finished with a grimace.

 

“That's a pretty big jump in logic," she snorted. “ for you guys.”

 

Yixing sighed and flopped onto his back.  “Yeah.  It’s a shame because she used to be a sweet girl.” 

 

Saya observed the boy.  She couldn’t tell if he was actually this easy-going, or if it was just a façade brought out when dealing with girls. 

Saya came to the conclusion, though, that regardless of his intentions, she could probably handle him.

 

She scooted closer so that she wouldn’t have to speak louder.  “People change, and becoming popular doesn’t exactly help.”

 

“Mm,” he hummed in agreement.

 

There was a pause before he spoke again.

 

“You know, I think the most interesting thing about you, Saya-ssi,” Yixing turned his head so he could look her in the eye, “is the fact that I get this strong feeling that you aren’t normal.  That there’s a lot more to you, just waiting to be shown.”

 

Saya instantly froze, a chill running down her back and her hands becoming clammy.  Danger. Too observant. Not as spacey as he looks.

 

Yixing quietly observed the younger girl’s reaction to his words.  She was hiding it well, but he could still see the panic in her eyes.  He had clearly hit a nerve, which confirmed his suspicions that there was something off about her.  If his senses were right, she might even be like Junmyeon and himself: different.

 

He had to give it to her though, she played it all off extremely well.  “Hmm, I’m not really sure what you mean by that, but I assure you I’m very normal.  Although I probably do like sports more than most people.”

 

Her voice was steady and the chuckle she threw in at the end was well placed and natural.  A grade-A lie with a sprinkling of the truth thrown in.

 

The best kind of lie there is, Yixing thought.

 

Yixing stared at her a little longer, impressed with how well she recovered from her initial shock.  He was debating whether or not to press the topic further, but decided against it when he saw her guards going up.

 

“Ahh~ that’s probably what it was then.  It’s really not every day that you get to see a girl, or anyone really, fight like that,” Yixing said with a good-natured smile.

 

He sat up and folded up his legs, the pleasant smile still plastered on his face.

“So, when should we start?  Although we probably don’t have that much time now.”

 

Saya just stared back at the older boy, thrown by his sudden change in demeanor.  She would have to be careful around him.  He was clever for her liking.

 

“Umm yeah, sure, let’s start then.”

 

They both stood and Saya went through the process of teaching the basics to him since Yixing told her he had zero experience with martial arts.

 

 

 

The atmosphere remained tense for the remainder of the time, both of them casually trying to size up the other, neither of them really putting all too much focus in what they were doing.

 

When time was called to switch, Yixing smiled at her, gave a small bow, and moved on to find his next partner.

 

While watching his retreating back, Saya let out a sigh of relief she didn’t know she had been holding in.

That was ridiculously nerve-wracking.  Hopefully my next partner won’t be as stressful.

 

While she was thinking it, Saya noticed the boy that Kris had just been sparring with walking over to her. 

When they made eye contact, the boy smiled and gave her a small wave.  Saya returned the action with a small smile of her own and a nod of her head.

 

The first thing she noted about her new partner was that he was only a few inches taller than her, a huge contrast in height to Kris.  She also couldn’t help but notice again how cute his cheeks were.  They didn’t look too plump or too thin -- another contrast to Kris' sharper, almost cold looking features-- and they gave him an overall youthful appearance.  Also, as Saya was already getting used to, he was without a doubt a looker.

 

 

“Kim Minseok,” he said, giving Saya a small bow.

 

Saya smiled and bowed as well.  “Lee Saya.”

 

Minseok gave her a wide smile.  “Oh, I know.  You’re the reason Taeyeon's been complaining the whole day.”

 

“Haha~ Yeah, it seems like I've become pretty infamous in the span of a day,” Saya said with an embarrassed chuckle.

 

“You’re also the reason that my idiot of a best friend is terrified to switch sparring partners right now,” he added with a teasing smile.  “Something between you being out to get him and beating up our P.E teacher just seemed to scare the life out of Bambi over there.”

 

Saya turned to see where Minseok had gestured, meeting eyes with a surprised Lu Han.  His eyes widened when he realized that her and Minseok were both staring at him, and Saya realized that Minseok was spot on with the calling him Bambi.  He was the spitting image of a deer caught in headlights at the moment.

 

She couldn’t help but laugh when Lu Han – who was completely unfocused on his opponent – got knocked down to the floor by a grinning Baekhyun.  She heard Baekhyun taunt the older boy before he looked over to see what had distracted him.   Seeing that it was Saya, he gave her a bright smile that turned his eyes into little crescents and waved over at her.  She waved back and laughed when Baekhyun looked down at Lu Han and loudly called him weak before yanking him up onto his feet again.

 

Watching the two spar a bit more, Saya could tell that Baekhyun really was skilled in hapkido.  His kicks were sharp and flowed in a way that only years of practice could’ve led to.  Very impressive indeed.

 

 

“Looks like Baekhyun is punishing Lu Han for you,” Minseok teased, walking over to where she was standing.

 

Saya chuckled.  “Nah, I think he’s just having fun bullying one of his hyungs.”

 

“Probably," Minseok laughed.  "Should we start?”

 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Saya said, still watching the other two.

 

 

An airy “okay then” was all the warning she got before Minseok sent a well aimed kick her way.

What the hell?!

 

Saya’s reflexes, being what they were, allowed her to duck down and quickly move out of range before she could be hit.  When she straightened up she shot Minseok an incredulous look.

 

“Yah! Are you crazy!”

 

Minseok just clicked his tongue and shook his head at her.  “But Saya, you were the one who said we could start.”

 

His tone was laced with mock disappointment which did a magnificent job of igniting Saya’s temper.

 

She growled and launched herself at the now grinning boy.

He blocked her first punch with a surprisingly well-toned arm, before aiming a punch of his own at her open side.  Saya easily twirled out of the way, stopping before sending a roundhouse kick towards Minseok’s head.

He ducked,reflexes allowing him to avoid the potentially dangerous hit.  He hadn’t expected her to suddenly stop all her momentum mid-kick, though, and redirect it up before allowing it to drop down in a fast fall.

The drop-kick caught Minseok on the shoulder and knocked him forward onto the mat face first.  With a small cry of victory, Saya threw herself onto the older boy and sat triumphantly on his back.

 

Minseok let out a low groan, trying to get up despite the weight that was happily perched on his back.

 

“Damn it,” he huffed.

 

“Hah, it’s what you get for suddenly attacking me,” Saya chirped.

 

“Yeah, yeah, can you get off now?” he whined, not liking the fact that some of the students were getting to see one of the captains of the soccer team being sat on.

 

Saya laughed.  “Only because you asked so nicely.”

 

She rolled off him, and got up onto her feet.  She brushed herself off and offered a hand for Minseok. 

 

“You’re really are crazy good.  You didn’t even try that hard, and you even managed to dodge an attack you didn’t see coming” Minseok commented as he accepted her help, hauling himself up from the floor with a grunt.

 

Saya shrugged.  “I’ve been training since I was little.  It was always a good way for me to channel my stress, and those breathing exercises do wonders for anger management.”

 

“I’m sure,” Minseok chuckled.  He settled into a basic fighting stance and gestured for Saya to start this time.

 

Saya smirked and came closer.  Once she was in range she threw a punch, which Minseok easily blocked.

Their sparring this time was friendlier.  If she would have to place his fighting style she would say that it came from learning some taekwondo.  Who won each round usually alternated between the two since, although Saya was more skilled, Minseok was definitely stronger in terms of physical build.

 

 

“I have a question,” Saya started when the two had decided to stop since it was about time to switch again.  “Why are you guys friends with Lu Han?  I mean, you all seem nice enough, and yet he’s…”

 

Saya let the end of her question hang, not needing to supply the words that she was thinking to describe the pink haired boy.  Minseok, seeing her honestly curious expression, couldn’t help but break out into laughter.

 

"So straightforward," he smiled.  “He’s really not as bad as you think he is, frankly he may be a flirt but he doesn’t usually get that,” Minseok waves his hands around, trying to think of the right word, “difficult with people he doesn’t know.”

 

I beg to differ, Saya mentally huffed.

 

“Also, we aren’t exactly all that nice either,” Minseok smirked.  “You just happen to be someone we don’t want to pick a fight with.  We like living after all.”

 

Saya narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a light shove.  “I’m not that scary.  I wouldn’t actually do anything to you guys.”

Can’t exactly go around beating up normal people anyway…not socially acceptable…

 

“Pfft, tell that to our teacher,” he scoffed, to which Saya chuckled.

 

Minseok stretched his arms over his head.  “Well, good luck with Bambi, try not to hurt him too much.”

 

He ruffled Saya’s hair, making sure to sufficiently muss it up before leaving to find his next opponent.

 

“Geez, why is it always the hair?” Saya whined quietly to herself.  She paused, though, her hand resting where Minseok had touched her head when she noticed that it was slightly cooler.

 

Strange, I didn’t notice it before but…his skin was definitely colder than a normal person’s.

 

Saya watched him walk away.  Weird.

 

 

She turned back in thought, when she noticed that a certain pink haired flower boy was taking his sweet time approaching her.

 

Saya could sense his nervousness from where she stood.  It practically flowed off of him.

 

“He’s really not as bad as you think…”

 

Minseok’s words popped up in her head as she observed the older boy that was slowly making his way over to her.

Gone was the cocky bravado and the air of importance that he had approached her with the first time they talked.  Instead, Saya noticed, he really did resemble Bambi.

 

Saya sighed.  I don’t mind his friends, so the least I can do is give him a second shot.

 

“He’s taking way too long to walk over here though,” she grumbled under her breath.  “Yah!  We don’t have all day!”

 

Lu Han jumped, clearly startled.  He gave her a wide-eyed look before hurrying over to where she was waiting.

 

He nervously cleared his throat.  “S-sorry.”

 

Saya cocked an eyebrow.  Oho~ What’s this?  He must really be scared of me.

 

“It’s fine,” was her curt reply before walking to the center of the mat, secretly smiling to herself.

 

Saya would be lying if she said that she wasn’t getting a kick out of seeing Lu Han acting so tame.  Lunchtime hadn’t been her only interaction with the boy.  She had seen him and Kris in the halls multiple times that day, and every time she would walk past he seemed to have the obnoxious need to harass her.  From comments about how she was a “wasted beauty” to tugging at the hem of her skirt, he had done it all, and within an impressive two hour time span to boot.  It felt like middle school all over again.

Although, it probably didn’t help that she had accidentally interrupted a make-out session between him and some second year, but it still didn’t give him any right to treat her that way.

 

 

“Umm should w- ”

“Yah, are we gonna start soon?” Saya asked, cutting off the older boy.

 

He seemed a bit taken aback that she wasn’t using a more formal and polite tone with him, especially since he had heard her using one with his friends, but he had to it up and brush it off.  He had no intention of picking a fight with her in a class where she could hurt him and make it look like an accident.

 

So instead of making a snarky remark, he simply nodded, not trusting himself to speak without digging a grave for himself.

 

 

Saya smirked when she saw the unconscious grimace flit across his pretty features at the way she was speaking to him.

 

“Show me what Baekhyun just taught you.”  His eyes widened.  “What? Did you think I didn’t notice that?”

 

“I didn’t think you would be paying that much attention to me,” he said, unable to stop himself as a coy smile quirked up the corners of his lips.  “Couldn’t keep your eyes off?”

 

The way he had asked it was innocent enough, but the full on smirk he was now sporting told a very different story.

 

Saya narrowed her eyes at him.  “Look, I’m trying to be nice here and give you a chance to prove that my first impressions of you were wrong, but you are making it very difficult for me right now.”  She shifted her weight onto one foot, jutting out her hip, and crossed her arms over her chest.  “Would you really rather I just treat you the way I want to?”

 

Lu Han visibly paled.  His adam’s apple moving as he swallowed hard.  He shook his head.  “No.”

 

“Okay, good.  Now, can we please start then.”  It wasn’t a question.

 

He nodded, shuffling over to where she stood, not wanting to upset her anymore.

 

“Why is this so difficult for me?” Saya sighed under her breath.  It was ridiculous but this boy in front of her just got under her skin without having to do anything.

 

Lu Han had heard her and couldn’t agree more.  Talking with the younger girl had proved to be considerably harder than he would have expected it to be.  His friends didn’t know that they had run into each other in the halls more than once, each time ending with him doing something that sent her storming off in annoyance.   Then there was also the fact that she had caught him with his tongue down some girl’s throat.  Not exactly the best way to see someone in general.

 

 

“Sunbae,” Saya seemed to struggle with the word, “We should really start, Mr. Kim is looking over and giving me the evil eye right now.  I really can’t have him docking my grade.”

 

Lu Han couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips.  “I’m pretty sure beating him down in front of the whole class already put you on his naughty list.”

 

“He started it!  He only got what he had coming,” Saya snapped.

 

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Lu Han laughed, “If anything I agree with you.  It’s what he gets for underestimating someone just because of their gender and how they look.”

 

Saya stared at him, a bit taken aback by his words. 

Huh, maybe he really isn’t that bad...

 

Lu Han gave her a teasing smile.  “Of course, considering how cute you are, I can’t exactly blame him either.”

 

Saya sighed.  “And he’s back.”

 

She casually approached the older boy and swiftly flicked him on the forehead before he could register what she was doing.

 

“Yah!”

 

“I don’t care how I look, no one should underestimate me.”

 

“Why you little- ,” he flicked her back, “You don’t have to tell me that.”

 

“Yah!” Saya tried to flick him again.

 

Lu Han caught her hand before she could hit him this time, swiftly pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her.

 

Wha-

 

Saya’s eyes widened and her body stiffened when she realized that Lu Han had pulled her flush against his body.  She tried not to think about how she could feel his toned abs through his thin white P.E. shirt, or that she could make out the crisp scent of his cologne, or even the fact that she could feel his breath softly fanning over her skin. 

Bad Saya!  Focus!

 

He gave her a seductive smile that shouldn’t have worked when mixed with his boyish features.  Saya felt her whole body heat up and she knew she was blushing.

 

“You know, there’s nothing wrong with being attractive.  In fact, if you were smart,” Lu Han leaned closer, “you would consider it a plus and use it.”

 

For the love of- LEE SAYA! SNAP OUT OF IT!

 

“You may use your looks to get what you want,” she narrowed her eyes at him, not willing to back down despite the way her heart was pounding in her chest, “but I’m. Not. You.”

 

“Oh? Are you saying that I’m attracti- ”

 

He didn’t have a chance to finish before Saya stomped on his foot.  He let out a yelp of pain, his grip loosening.  Saya took advantage of his lack of focus and spun around, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward in the process.

There was a thud as Lu Han was flipped onto the floor, landing splayed on his back.

 

Saya watched as Lu Han groaned, slowly sitting up and running a hand through his pink hair.  A satisfied smile slipped onto her lips at the sight, only to quickly disappear when she met his eyes.

 

They flashed in anger, she would even go so far as to say that they were softly glowing.

 

Saya automatically tensed, her instincts telling her she should run.  The air around Lu Han changed, and he suddenly seemed a lot more threatening than he had a minute ago.

 

“I’m sor- ” Lu Han lunged at her, managing to tackle her to the mat.

 

Saya let out a small gasp of pain as all the air in her lungs suddenly rushed out.

 

“Not so fun when you’re on the receiving end, is it?” his tone was mocking as he hovered over her, pinning her to the mat.

 

She could feel her body heating up again, this time for a very different reason.  A low growl escaped her lips as her powers itched to bubble up to the surface, an automatic response to being cornered.

 

Space, I need space.

 

Saya shot out her elbow, knocking out one of Lu Han’s arms, allowing her to shove him off.  She immediately rolled to her feet, putting distance between her and the angry boy.

 

“What’s your problem?” Saya hissed.

 

“You wanted to fight, right?” he snapped.  “I’m just giving you what you wanted.”

 

The distance she had put between them clearly wasn’t enough, as Lu Han swung out his leg and managed to swipe hers out from under her.

Saya reacted instantly and managed to catch herself before she fell to the floor.  Holding herself up with her hands, she swung her leg out, landing a solid hit on his side.  She had eased up on the force of the hit, not wanting to actually hurt Lu Han anymore, so the kick only managed to push him away.

 

She took the initiative this time and launched herself at the boy.  He may be physically stronger, but if she used the right hold she would still be able to keep him in place long enough to hopefully calm him down.

 

“Lu Han!” she half-whispered half-yelled, trying to get his attention as she sat on his chest, pinning his arms with her knees.  His eyes suddenly had a far away look in them that Saya found very worrisome.  It was like he wasn’t really there anymore.  That, and the fact that she could feel a familiar hum of energy rolling off him in waves, had Saya firmly cupping his face between her hands.

 

It doesn’t matter how this looks to others, there’s something very wrong here!

 

“Lu Han! Lu Han, listen to me!”

 

She gasped.  A halo of softly glowing light encircled his brown irises.

 

It can’t be.

 

Saya felt a rush of energy collecting around Lu Han, and next thing she knew she was flying backwards, landing hard on her arm.  She let out a grunt of pain.

 

She hissed.  “.”

 

Slowly, Saya sat up, ignoring the pain and the curious stares she was getting from some of the students who had been close enough to see what had just happened.  She looked over to Lu Han, unwanted concern towards the older boy swirling in her stomach.

 

He looked as dazed and freaked as she was feeling. 

 

“What was that?” her voice was shaky and nothing more than a whisper.

 

Lu Han somehow heard it, though, and met her gaze with a panic stricken look of his own.

 

“I think I should be asking you that also.”  His reply was just as quiet.

 

Saya followed his eyes as they trailed down to the mat next to him.

 

Scorch marks.  There were scorch marks flaring out from where her flames, which had sprung out on reflex to protect her, had collided with something. 

 

.  .  .

 

She could feel herself breaking out in a cold sweat.  Her heart beating fast against her rib cage.  Her eyes were wide.  Panic was setting in.

 

Had he seen?  Did someone else see?  What if he tells?  Wait, maybe he didn’t even see anything…No, no, no, he definitely saw something, there are SCORCH MARKS for ’s sake!  Oh , I’m so screwed…but, what was that that hit me?  What did he do?

 

“L-Lu Han, I- ”

“It’s time to switch," he said, and, with one last panicked glance thrown her way, Lu Han got up and left.

 

Saya watched his pink hair disappear as he mixed in with the other students -- sending them nervous glances as he passed, his shoulders tense -- who were looking for their last partner of the day.

 

Saya groaned, flopping back onto the mat.

 

Well Saya, you done ed up.

 

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

slowly updating and editing before new post