The choice of wardrobe was enough to tell me her intentions were to go clubbing. I smiled. We hadn't gone clubbing for a while. Most clubs would still had the rule which Suzy would always complain about since Korea was one of the only countries that considered 21 the adult age, but we knew a couple that let us in.

"Yeah. I'm sure the guys would love to experience Korean clubs."

"It's too early though." I chuckled, pointing to the clock that showed it was only midday.

She pouted as if she only just realised this.

"Why don't we go somewhere in the meantime." I decided, wanting to prevent the waterworks.

She instantly brightened at the thought. I could imagine a long tail wagging behind her.

"How about the amusement park? We haven't been there in a while." I pondered, tapping my chin thoughtfully.

I had always loved amusement parks. Suzy was more of a shopping kind of girl but she knew how happy they made me so she never disagreed. They were always difficult for us because Suzy was terrified of heights therefore hated the rides- she preferred ball toss and carnival games, whereas I loved rides. Rollercoasters were why I lived. Not to mention, Suzy loved haunted houses whereas the last time I had gone in with her I had fainted. I detested jump scares. That was why we always dragged Min, Jia and Fei with us to amusement parks. This time we'd be going with the guys. Although it was a good chance to get to know them better, I was worried that it would be uncomfortable and awkward.

Naturally, everyone started pairing off. Luhan and Suzy, the only two that hated heights, went to the carnival games. Xiumin and Chen  had disappeared somewhere in the food court and Kris and Lay had just evaporated into thin air, leaving me with Tao. Thankfully, Tao was as fond of rollercoasters as I was and he had no trouble keeping up with me as I dragged him onto rides.

I felt comfortable around Tao. He was super friendly and cute. He was like a little brother so I didn't feel any awkwardness around him. 

After going on each ride at least twice, our stamina was spent. We were heading to the food court when we spotted Kris. 

"Where did you go?" Tao asked, grabbing Kris's attention in the midst of his search. He looked so lost- like a kid. It was cute.

"Finally!" He exhaled in relief, "Lay ran off into some stupid mirror world and I couldn't find anyone."

I giggled and his eyes immediately zeroed in on me but I could tell he was amused by the warmth in his eyes. "Did you guys like go on every ride or something? You look beat."

Tao and I exchanged a secretive smile before bursting into laughter. "You could say that." I turned, suddenly noticing there was one ride we hadn't been on. "What's that? It looks like a new attraction. I've never seen it before." I looked back to the boys, questioning them wordlessly. Tao lifted his hands in retirement so I shifted my focus to Kris, using my puppy dog eyes. He sighed in defeat and strided towards the building. I smiled triumphantly before following him. We opened the door and slipped inside and the first thing I noticed was that the door shut behind us with a loud thud. It made me jump closer to Kris but I managed to retain my composure.

The room was kind of dark and I could barely make out where I was headed. If there was a que for the ride then I was assuming it was somewhere behind the dark.

----OUTSIDE----

"Tao? Why are you here alone?" Suzy asked as she and Luhan found the male alone massaging his calves.

"Lian and Kris went into the ride. I can't take another step." He groaned, leaning back.

Suzy looked behind, seeing nothing but the haunted house. "Where? What ride?"

Tao looked up, pointing out the door Kris and Lian had taken.

Suzy's face exploded with horror, "YOU LET MY LIAN GO INTO A HAUNTED HOUSE?"

[A/N I totally imagine Suzy with this type of personality LMAO IMAGINE IT SAID "LIAN"]

---INSIDE THE HAUNTED HOUSE----

I suddenly became aware that it was getting darker. I heard a loud scream from outside and I could have sworn it was Suzy's voice.

"Kris? You're still there right?"

"Yeah."

"Is it alright if we head back? I think we came into the haunted house." I could trace the fear in my voice but I was hoping he wouldn't notice.

Thankfully he agreed and we headed back to the door.

Sadly, the door wouldn't budge.

"I think it's a one way door." Kris sighed. "We have to get to the exit. Is that alright with you?" He searched my eyes for an answer, not that he would have been able to see them in the darkness, but I nodded, knowing that if I spoke it would have come out as a squeak.

I knew I was standing too close to Kris but the room was so dark that I didn't want to risk being separated. The sound of footsteps in the background was adding to my paranoia and I just knew something was bound to pop out and scare me. 

Eventually my prediction was proven right and a huge masked man appeared from nowhere, waving around a bat. I screamed, harder than I had in a while, and bolted ahead. I needed to get out. I could hear Kris calling for me but I was blinded by fear. I knew I had taken a wrong turn when I ran into a hard wall. I turned around, finding Kris who had finally caught up to me but what snagged my attention was the wall that had just shut behind him.

We were barricaded in.

Before I could relinquish another blood-curdling howl, Kris covered my eyes. 

"Relax. Imagine it like the night sky. It's dark but it's not scary, right?" He whispered. "Breathe and it'll be over before you know it." I felt him place something into my ears and I knew they were his earphones. There was a song playing but it was unfamiliar- english no doubt. 

I didn't say a word nor did I struggle against his grip even as he guided me. He didn't release his hand over my eyes and used his other hand to pull me forward. I didn't crash once which was surprising considering he was controlling my movements. Eventually he let his palm drop and my eyes fluttered open, revealing a red door.

I turned and looked up at him, handing back his earphones, aware my eyes were probably wet and glossy. I refused to cry. 

"Thank you." I tried to express the extents on my gratitude with my tone and I'm sure they were conveyed because he pet my head in response. 

We opened the door together and I was immediately glomped by Suzy who was sobbing uncontrollably. I wasn't surprised by her reaction but she seemed so by mine since she pulled me back to an arm's length, scanning my face.

"You...you're conscious!"

"Yes, that I am."

"And you're not crying."

"I know."

"You're smiling?"

I knew my cheeks were tinting pink so I quickly pushed past her, "I think that's enough rides for one day."

When we arrived home it was only 4 so we had a leeway of 2-3 hours before we had to start getting ready. Most of the guys slept, like Suzy, but I had issues with sleeping during the day so I busied myself in my room, attempting to understand yesterday's lesson that had made no sense to me.

As per usual, after a solid 5 minutes of staring at the text book, I grew irritated and slammed my head against it.

I just wasn't suited to be the academic type. 

My eyes flickered to my phone. Chanyeol had given me his number for 'study purposes' and this was a study purpose. I was always telling myself to be braver and this was the perfect opportunity to prove it. 

I scrolled through my contacts, freezing at his name.

My fingers were hesitant. I quickly tapped on the call button like a mischievious child who just pressed a button they were told not to.

He answered after 3 rings. His voice was a lot deeper through the phone. I hadn't even noticed it were possible to get deeper.

"Hello?" He repeated since I hadn't spoken up.

"Hey." My voice was so soft that even I barely heard it. Somehow, most probably with his ninja skills, Chanyeol had heard it and his tone brightened noticeably.

"Lian? Hey, what's up?"

"Well um, I was wondering if you were free."

"Yeah, I'm not doing anything. Why?"

"Do you think you could come over?" I bit my lip, quickly adding, "I was wondering if you could help me understand yesterday's lesson. I really want to pass this semester since it's our last."

He seemed taken aback by my request before he took a moment to reply, "Sure. I'd love to."

"Really?" I couldn't withhold the excitement from my voice. He laughed in response before confirming that he would come.

I texted him my address after I hung up, beaming at my accomplishment. He said he'd be here in 15 minutes so I pulled out my laptop to tell Yifan about my achievement. Coincidentally, he was online. After a brief explanation of what had happened, his response wasn't the prideful one I'd expected. 

DRAGON_YIFAN [21/10 04:21PM]: You invited him to your house?

LILI [21/10 04:22PM]: Yes...why?

DRAGON_YIFAN [21/10 04:23PM]: LIAN! This boy likes you! Do you even know what it means for a girl to invite a guy to her house?

LILI [21/10 04:23PM]: That...she needs help with school?

DRAGON_YIFAN [21/10 04:24PM]: God you can be such an airhead sometimes.
DRAGON_YIFAN [21/10 04:24PM]: It means you want him!

I blinked. Obviously I wanted him to help me! Why else would I ask him to come over? I felt a spasm of irritation spike over me. He called me an airhead! I took my wounded feelings, venting them back to him. 

LILI [21/10 04:26PM]: Well I'm sorry my head is so full of air! 
LILI [21/10 04:26PM]: And for the record, Chanyeol is a nice person! Not every guy is like you!

DRAGON_YIFAN [21/10 04:27PM]: Yes because you're just b with knowledge on that subject aren't you?

Ouch.

LILI [21/10 04:27PM]: Look I didn't ask for your advice on the matter! I was merely informing you because I thought you'd be proud I did something out of my comfort zone. 
LILI [21/10 04:27PM]: Clearly that was a misjudgement on my part but can you blame me when my head is just filled with air?
LILI [21/10 04:27PM]: Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go study because apparently I need to be "b with knowledge" to have an opinion!
 

I shut the screen to my laptop, huffing with rage. Did we just have our first fight?

I didn't get to answer my question because the call of the doorbell distracted me. I stormed out of my room, bumping into Kris on the way. He didn't say anything and grumpily continued down the hallway. What was he so mad about?

Shaking the thought, I opened the door to a grinning Chanyeol. 

"Are you alright?" I snapped out of my daze, realising I hadn't been paying attention to Chanyeol's lesson. I gave him an apologetic frown but he shook his head. "Something seems to be distracting you. Want to talk about it?" He tapped his ears, "My friends say my big ears make me a good listener."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "It's just one of my friends...we had a fight."

"Is it Kris?"

I arched a brow, "No, Why would you say that?"

"Oh he just seemed kind of pissed about something but never mind." He chuckled, urging for me to continue.

"Apparently I'm too stupid to read signals." I sighed in deflation. 

"You're not stupid." I opened my mouth to argue against him but he continued, "It's like Einstein said, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." He shrugged.

I blinked. I'd never thought about it like that.

"Don't you hate me?" I suddenly blurted, gaining his full attention.

He chuckled in his deep voice, "Because you won't date me? No. I know I should probably give up on you but I can't help it. Especially when you do things like I like inviting me to your house, completely oblivious to what it meant." He laughed once more, "Don't worry. I know you had no idea." 

I smiled. ""Thank you Chanyeol."

He looked at me with questioning eyes probably because he hadn't taught me anything but I shook my head.

"Thank you for liking me."