~ Chapter Thirteen: So Far, So Wrong ~

The Fallen

Random Rambles: I guess I'm in a writing mood~ I might be busy the upcoming days again, but as usual, I hope to keep on updating ^^ Thanks for reading and commenting, lovelies! You're all amazeballs topped with awesomesauce ~(^3^)~

***

Something is weird about my school - and, for once, it's not me.

Maybe it's not necessarily the school itself that's odd (although the richie rich get up might throw a few people off their game), it's mostly the students that seem to have a few wires loose. Either that, or all of them need a pair of glasses.

Let it be said that most kids around here are actually pretty nice. They have shown a polite interest in me and asked me all sorts of questions and spoke to me to make me feel a bit more at ease. However, I'm not sure whether they really understand English as well as they speak it. For some reason, when they refer about me, they keep messing up on the personal pronouns.

It was a little weird to be surrounded by a small group of people as I tried making my way to my locker, especially since they were all trying to talk to me. I guess the island really didn't get a lot of visitors. I almost felt famous. 

"Hey, how old are you exactly again? You look pretty young," one of them had asked. While I was squeezed in between two guys. 

"Eh, I'm-,"

"Obviously he's around our age, you idiot, otherwise he wouldn't be in the same class!"

 Again with the 'he'!

"Uhm, about that-,"

"Well, there was no harm in asking. There are people who take advanced classes and stuff, you know? I mean, during P.E. all the classes and years get mixed up anyway. It wasn't such a weird question, right, Jae?" 

I jolted a little at the sudden attention again and I quickly shook my head. "It's a fine question, but the answer isn't completely right..." I started, feeling a little overwhelmed in the crowded hallway, especially since other students took note of me and cast curious glances my way. Honestly, I just wanted to get to my locker, gather my wits about me and head over the main hall where, apparently, a student was going to properly show me around at short notice. I was fine with that, since I'd have a few moments to myself to process all the impressions I'd gathered so far. However, with lunch starting, it seemed like the whole student body was spilled out in the hallways. 

"Damn. Am I even going the right direction?" I asked out loud, trying to look at the locker numbers. 

"Oh man, are you sure about your age? You even sound young," one of the guys, I think his name was Minho, noted.

"I think it's cute! You kinda sound like a girl," a short, fresh-faced girl commented, giggling as she did so. I pointed enthusiastically at her. 

"Yes! That's because I am a-,"

"Oh my gosh, it's Luhan-oppa! Luhan!" she squealed out of the blue, making me groan out of pure frustration. 

Minho patted me on the back, laughing as he did so. "Guess you heard about Luhan's reputation already as well, huh? He makes all the guys roll their eyes and grunt out of frustration. Dude's super popular," he explained. 

Did I look like I cared? Probably not, which Minho found amusing. "I didn't react to that," I tried to explain, "I don't even know the guy..." my voice trailed off when I caught sight of the guy named Luhan. He was smiling politely at the girls that swarmed around him, greeting his friends as he moved through the halls. It really wasn't that hard to figure out why he was popular. With his sparkling, doe-eyes and charming smile, lushious hair... He was tall and athletic, and, truthfully- intimidating. There was something about his eyes that I couldn't place. I genuinely startled when his eyes were directed at me, and I could tell that his smile faded when we had eye contact. 

I couldn't look at him and for the life of me, I don't know why. He seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't like the way he looked at me. There was something in those eyes. Almost as though he could see right through me. I looked away, even though he hadn't, and quickly moved away. 

"Hey, Jae, where are you going?" Minho asked when he saw me scoot away. 

"I got to find my locker and then I'm meeting someone who's going to show me around," I quickly explained. "I'll see you later, okay?" I greeted and he stuck up his thumb. 

"Alright, cool. Laters," he saluted and I was glad that my overly enthusiastic classmates went off to attend their own business. As I looked around to find my locker, I accidentally bumped up against someone when I wasn't paying too much attention. 

"Oh crap, I'm so-," I bit my lip when I saw the person who I had bumped up against, "sorry..." I added quietly. I nearly forgotten that not all of my classmates were so enthusiastic about me joining the class. 

Suho looked at me, his face betraying nothing, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. To make matters worse, he didn't say anything. He just stared at me. This guy really didn't like me. 

"Oh, hi, Jae," his friend, - Lay, I believe was his name -, popped up from behind him and gave a warm smile that deepened the dimple in his cheek. At least one of them was making an effort. 

"Hi," I greeted softly, feeling my cheeks heat up again. "I'm sorry about bumping into you, Suho. I, eh, wasn't looking where I was going," I apologized again, rubbing the back of my neck. 

When Suho still didn't reply and only looked at me with extreme agitation, I shuffled my feet. 

"That's okay. Suho knows you didn't do it on purpose," Lay spoke instead, a friendly look on his face as he patted his friend goodnaturedly on the back. "We didn't officially meet yet. I'm Lay, and you know Suho," he introduced, politely bowing before shaking my hand. I was fast to follow his example. I then turned to extend a hand at Suho, but the guy didn't make a move. Yikes, I really stepped on his toes... What did I do to you, bro?

Sensing the tension, Lay resorted to shaking my hand again, which I found rather endearing. "Don't worry about Suho, he has, uh, a fear of germs," he said as an excuse, holding onto my hand a little longer than was usual. When he let go, I inexplicably felt refreshed, somehow. Energized. Maybe I was just relieved that Lay wasn't giving me the cold shoulder like Suho was. 

"Can we help you with something, Jae?" Lay asked, receiving a glare from Suho himself now, which he obliviously ignored. 

"Eh, well, actually...I'm looking for my locker. This place is pretty big, so I'm not sure where to start looking," I confessed. 

"Ah, yeah, finding your locker is pretty tricky. To be honest, I haven't used mine since the start of the school year- I forgot where it is," Lay chuckled, but the sleepy look in his eyes made me wonder whether he was just joking or being serious. 

"What's your locker number?" he then asked, pretending as though the sulking Suho wasn't there. 

"Um, 1213," I answered. 

"Ah, that's near Chanyeol's locker, isn't it?" Lay asked out loud, but of course, the name didn't mean anything to me. Since Suho didn't answer, Lay turned around and pointed further ahead. "You follow the hallway till the end and make a left. It should be somewhere in that row," he explained. 

"Okay, great. Thanks," I smiled. "I guess I'll see you around." 

Lay gave a small wave, the smile never leaving his face, while Suho remained as expressionless as can be. Maybe I should stay away from him for the time being. Lay and Suho were in the same year as I was so I was bound to see them often, but just in case, I'll keep out of Suho's way. Just to be safe. 

Thankfully, Lay's instructions were correct and I found my new locker in no time. The hallway here was more quiet, which I appreciated, though there were three guys standing nearby. I recognized one of them as the guy that I met at the student office when I signed in this morning. I didn't know the other two, but since they were fortunately engaged in conversation with one another, I got the time to open my locker door to shield myself slightly. Unfortunately, that didn't shield me from hearing them speaking with one another. 

"Are you sure that's what Suho said?" one of them asked and I winced. I shouldn't be listening to this, the mention of the name was enough reason. 

"Hmhm. Kai didn't seem all too excited either." 

"Wow. I think that's the first time those two agreed on something." 

I'm not listening. La la la, not listening. Just minding my own business, I'm not curious at all, la la la...

When I was sure the three of them continued their conversation, I carefully peeked at them from the corner of my eye, behind my opened locker door. I nearly jumped when they simultaneously stopped talking to look directly at me. 

Flustered, I focused on dumping the books I didn't need anymore and thought of making a clean escape. 

"Hey, it's the newbie! What's up, Newbie?" 

I crushed my eyes shut. Was nothing going to go my way today? I grabbed my locker door to lean on and gave a small smile. 

"Not much, what about you? Managed to throw more mice around?" I retorted dryly, but he chuckled. 

"You remembered! Very impressive," he stated, but I wasn't sure whether he meant it or not. 

"Yeah, well, hard to forget," I tapped on my locker door, only to retract my hand when I felt an electric shock pricking my fingers. What was up with the static electricity? 

"Something up, Newbie?" the tallest of three asked, his voice deep and his face surprisingly- childlike. Playful. He had a smile that toothpaste commercials would die for. 

"No, I'm good," I grabbed my door again, feeling very out of place with those three hanging around. I stared at the door when a sudden sensation of heat pulsed through it. Immediately letting go, I confusedly glanced at my hand. First an electric shock and now the door heats up as though it was warmed by fire? Man, I must be hungry, or something.

"I, uh, I have to go. Excuse me," I finally muttered, since they just looked at me as though I was some kind of curious novelty. I guess it shouldn't be that surprising since they obviously knew Suho, or they wouldn't have mentioned him. When I went to shut my locker, the last one spoke up, a mischievous look on his face. 

"Careful with the door, Newbie," he warned and I blinked at him. Did he see-? He couldn't have known that I was being shocked and burned by that thing a few moments ago, could he?

"It tends to get stuck," he finished, pushing the door further shut. I let out a soft sigh of relief. 

"Oh. Right. Eh, thanks," I walked away and turned the corner, too late to see someone pop out in front of me before I even noticed that he was there. 

"What the-," I muttered in a daze, just in time to stop walking before I'd hit him like I did Suho. The bronze-skinned kid looked down at me, since I was much shorter than he was, but he said nothing. Great. Another glarer. I really was in no mood for this. 

"Sorry about that," I muttered before leaving for the main hall. I didn't look over my shoulder, since something told me that he was still standing there, looking at me. So far, I'm guessing that there's a bunch of people on the island that may not take kindly to strangers. I've met some nice kids, sure, but the last couple of people gave me some seriously bad vibes. Not to mention that I just had to act more clumsy in front of those particular people. I'm sure that didn't help matters. 

Another thing that didn't help was the fact that the dudes that stood out to me so far due to their strange behavior were all freaking gorgeous- regrettably so!

I shook my head for even thinking like that, but come on! I wasn't blind! The mere thought that I made a complete out of myself in front of them, made me wanna sink through a hole in the ground. Add to that the fact that people seemed to have mistaken me for a dude and you've the perfect recipe for utter humiliation and disaster. 

What did I do in my previous life that was so bad? Why was this happening to me? Why was my face apparently so boyish that no one seemed to realize that I was a girl?

Taking a deep, deep breath, I kept a steady pace as I walked through the crowds of students to get ready for my appointment with the poor person that had the task to guide me around. I didn't even know who to look for. I searched a bit awkwardly around the main hall, standing near the grand stairs underneath the clock. From here, it was painfully obvious how everyone was split into perfect little cliques, and me, being paranoid as heck, started getting the feeling that they may be talking about me.

One particular group of guys (again, why did they have to be runway models- especially the tall, blonde dude...) were pretty indiscrete about the fact that they were talking about me.

A wiry, though lean guy with jet black hair and dark circles under his eyes asked his friends if I was the new kid, which just made me turn my head away to pretend like I hadn't heard him. It seriously to have a group of guys staring at you when you're a girl (though something told me that they were probably not aware of that, tch), but to find them rather attractive at the same time was a killer combination. This was doing nothing for my nerves. I should've stayed at home. 

"Hm. I had expected...more," one of his friends replied. He had a light lisp and platinum blonde hair. 

"Well, good luck with the new kid, D.O.. If you run into trouble, tell us." 

I frowned at this and turned to look at them. The tall guy with the honey blonde hair had said those words and there was a weird little smirk on his face when he briefly appraised me. 

"Yeah, let us know," a boy with catlike eyes added and it was only then that I noticed a fifth boy standing there. Compared to his friends, he was rather short and at first glance, not all too remarkable. He looked miserable, as though he was 100% done with the world and everyone in it. Was he my guide? Really? 

His posture changed when his friends greeted him and they walked away, glancing at me now and then. When I looked back at the dark-haired boy, his big eyes glanced away, though he shuffled rather hesitatingly my way. Since he looked obviously nervous, I became shy as well.

"Um, I take it you're the new kid?" he eventually asked when he approached me.

"Yeah. You're the student I'm supposed to meet?" I asked and he nodded, obviously out of his comfortzone. Funny. Usually, schools would send their more extroverted, socially easy students to do the happy tour guide shtick. This kid, however, seemed like the complete opposite of all of that. In fact, it kind of looked like he had no idea what to do next. He was staring at a wrinkled piece of paper.

I bit my lip. "Hi," I started, simply beginning at the beginning. He glanced up, finally making eye contact. "I'm Jae. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to show me around. I'll be in your care," I bowed and waited for him to make the next move.

He relaxed only slightly and greeted me the same way, but did so rather emotionlessly. "It's nice to meet you. My name is D.O., I'll be showing you around today."

"Great. I look forward to it, D.O.," I smiled, and seeing that I meant no harm, he managed a smile.

"Alright then. So, yeah...I guess we can get started then," he announced, putting the paper back into his messenger bag. "Let's start at the cafeteria so we can get something to eat real quick before I show you around the campus," he instructed, sounding very professional and a bit stiff. He struck me as a rather serious person. 

He was cute though...

I startled, shaking that thought out of my mind. Stop it, Jae, you're a boy- huh? No. Wait...What? 

"So, D.O., do you think we can go to the cafeteria then? I think I really need something to eat," I chuckled and he nodded quickly. 

"It's this way," he pointed out, taking the lead. "Oh, and before I forget; On behalf of the entire student body and staff, welcome to Hanwol," he said. 

We passed the friends he had spoken to a few moments ago, and I did a doubletake when the one with honey blonde hair watched us. I thought for sure that his eyes had shone red just now...I rubbed my eyes and looked back at him. He blinked at me with perfectly normal brown eyes. 

"Eh, yeah, t-thanks," I answered absently. "Let's eat a lot of food, I'm really, and quite obviously, hungry." 

"What do you mean?" asked D.O. and I couldn't blame him for sounding so confused. 

"I think I'm starting to see things that aren't there," I quipped. He didn't have to know that I was dead serious about it. "It's okay though, some food will solve the issue. I guess I can't function on an empty stomach." 

"I know what that's like," D.O. muttered, but he gave no explanation. "Cafeteria is right here. We eat there, and...stuff," he shrugged, clearing his throat. I looked at him. 

"First time you're doing this, huh?" I asked teasingly, hoping it would break the ice somewhat. 

"That obvious?" D.O. remarked, looking worried. 

"Oh, no, no, no! That's not what I meant, you're doing fine, I was just teasing to lighten the tension a bit," I scratched my cheek. "I'm sorry you got saddled with me. It's pretty lame to have to show the new kid around, right?" 

D.O. looked as though he was carefully considering my question. "It is," he shrugged, being too brutally honest. "But I guess I don't mind. You seem- okay," he added quietly before we stepped foot in the noisy cafeteria. I smiled a little.

"Thanks. Right back at you," I retorted, earning another small smile. I noted how his lips were shaped like a heart and how fitting it was, since he struck me as someone who'd say what was on his mind or in his heart truthfully to others, even though he seemed rather quiet. Either way, this didn't seem to be so bad. 

Trying to forget about my random meetings with impossibly gorgeous guys with strange, and rather disappointing personalities, I focused on D.O.'s explanation about how things work at the school and purposely ignored the fact that I could literally sense eleven guys watching us from a far. 

Yeah, not creepy at all...

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Nin-Nin
Hi guys~ my first original ebook is available on Amazon and I'm having a lot of feels. If you have the time, check out my previous blog post for more details - I'd appreciate the support <3 Thank you and have a lovely weekend! Love, Nin-Nin

Comments

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Wanderer_bj
#1
I don't even know how many times I have read this.😍
BeckyBooGirl
#2
Chapter 4: This is one of my favorite exo fanfic. I have read this story 5 or 6 times already and still love it like i did when I first read it❤
InspiritCarolyn
#3
This is one of those fics I can come back to again and again without getting tired of re-reading it. Each time I read it, I love it the same as the first time.
aonani_k
#4
Chapter 109: I finished it once again and as before, I enjoyed reading such a great story. Hope all is well. :)
aonani_k
#5
Chapter 2: It's been years since I read the story and today I just felt like re-reading it! Glad it's still here. :)
Sehixneeo
#6
Chapter 109: Argh, I will never ever forget this story. Ever. 🥺💛
Jaerin
#7
Chapter 109: This story will always be one of my favorite, a masterpiece 🤧💞❤️
Pxnellyxq #8
Chapter 107: WHAT IM LEGITIMATELY SHOCKED AND TEARING UP
Pxnellyxq #9
Chapter 100: why is the white wolf making me feel emotional :///
Pxnellyxq #10
Chapter 61: Stinky kumiho