Baekhyun’s House

Saturday, September 13

12:00 p.m.

As mid-day sun rays shined through his bedroom window, Baekhyun opened his eyes waking from his slumber. With a groan, he rubbed his face and rolled over to look at the clock on his bedside table.

12:00 p.m.

He let out another sleepy groan as he reluctantly crawled out of bed and put on some clothes. Feeling like a zombie, he walked downstairs still groggy from his late night.

“Well, look who decided to get up.” Baekhyun turned to the right to see his mother staring at him from the kitchen, hands on her hips. The scowl on her face told him that she wasn’t very happy.

Great…, he thought to himself sarcastically.

“Morning, mom,” he said as he plopped into a kitchen chair and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

“Morning? Lunchtime is more like it,” she replied gravely, annoyance present in her tone. “What exactly made you sleep so long?”

“Oh, I was just really tired from the game last night, that’s all,” Baek replied, attempting to get out of trouble. “You know I scored like 30 poin–”

“Oh, don’t give me that crap, Baekhyun!” his mom suddenly exclaimed. Baek quickly looked up at her surprised. “Did you think that me and your father wouldn’t hear you coming in at 2:00 in the morning?”

“I… Uh…,” Baekhyun stuttered.

“And I bet you were with that girl, too, weren’t you?” The woman let out a sigh, as she turned away from her son.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “That girl has a name,” he muttered under his breath. “And what’s the big deal anyway?” he continued, his voice becoming louder.

“The big deal?!” Baekhyun’s mother exclaimed. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, as she took a seat beside her son. “Listen, Baek.” Mrs. Byun started, now in a softer tone. “Your father and I only want what’s best for you. This is your senior year, you know, and you’re so talented.” She took Baekhyun’s hand in hers, trying to get him to understand her side. “College scouts are going to be looking at you, deciding whether or not they want you on their team. This is your time, baby, to focus on your future. Not some… some girl.”

Baekhyun just stared at his mother, good intentions overflowing from her voice. He knew she was right to a certain extent. He did need to focus on his football career. And he did need to focus on getting a good scholarship. But he also wanted to focus on Emberly and he knew he could do all of that at once.

“I know, mom,” he replied softly. “But I can do both. I love football, but I also love Em.”

“Love,” his mother suddenly scoffed. “What do you know about love? You’re both just teenagers. Listen, you may think now that you and Emberly will be together forever but, trust me, in the next few years you will find new interests and grow apart. I’m sorry, but the sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”

Her words hit Baek like a heavy stone pressing on his rib cage. He couldn’t believe what his mother was saying. Unfortunately, he knew she would never agree with him, so he decided to push it no further.

“Okay, mom,” he said simply, ending the conversation. Baekhyun stood up, pushed in his chair, and walked away with a sorrowful expression. He trudged up the stairs and went back to bed.

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Emberly’s House

Sunday, September 14

3:30 p.m.

Emberly sighed in frustration as she pushed away her science notes and laid her head down on the kitchen table. She had been studying all day for the science competition. It was still weeks away, but she was using every chance she had to prepare.

“Em? Is everything alright?” Emberly’s grandmother asked softly as she took a seat beside her.

Emberly’s parents had died in a car crash when she was only two years old and her grandfather had passed years before that, so her grandmother had raised Emberly on her own for the last 15 years. They lived in a small, one story home and Em’s grandmother wasn’t able to provide her with a lot of luxuries, but despite their limited budget, Emberly had a good childhood. Her grandmother had always been there for Em, supporting her in whatever she wanted to achieve. She also trusted Emberly and let her go and do with little interference.

“Honestly, I don’t really know,” Emberly answered solemnly, looking up at the older woman. “I just can’t seem to remember the answers to some of these trivia questions. And I need an idea for an experiment, but all I can think of are easy, simple reactions that definitely won’t win first place.”

Em’s grandmother looked at her amusedly, a smile creeping on to her face. “What?” Em asked, confused.

“Oh, nothing,” her grandmother teased. “I’ve just heard you say the exact same thing quite a few times before, that’s all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” the woman started, “remember when you competed in the 6th grade spelling bee?” Emberly nodded yes. “The day before, you told me that you couldn’t remember how to spell any of the big words and you knew you weren’t going to win. But you did. And remember when you had that huge end-of-the-year history exam last year? You also told me that you were having trouble memorizing names and dates and you knew you were going to fail. But you didn’t. And remember when-”

Emberly started smiling hugely. “Okay, okay,” she said with a laugh. “I get it. I doubt myself. A lot.”

“Mmmhmm…,” her grandmother playfully agreed.

“I’m just scared. You know what’s on the line, grandma.”

And what was on the line was something pretty big. Every member of the winning team would be awarded a $10,000 scholarship to use towards any college expenses. Normally, the award wasn’t so large, but an anonymous donor had put up the huge prize.

She didn’t know who the donor was, but Emberly looked at them as her guardian angel. She knew that her grandmother would never be able to put her through college and college wasn’t cheap. Even with the prize money, she’d still have to get student loans but every dollar she could pay up front helped. And $10,000… Well that was an opportunity of a lifetime.

“I know what’s on the line,” Emberly’s grandmother responded. “But I also know that you’re the master of getting what you want when you put your mind to it. You’ve got this, Em!”

Emberly smiled up at her caregiver, thankful for her never-ending support. “Now, put that stuff away and let’s go get something to eat. You need a break.”

Emberly silently agreed, giving her grandma a hug as they stood up.

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Gentry High School- Cafeteria

Monday, September 15

 12:00 p.m.

Monday morning had been just as Baekhyun expected it would be. The locker room had been awkward; barely anyone had spoken to Baek. Strange looks were thrown his way as he walked down the halls. Of course, a few guys had come up to him congratulating him on winning the fight, but for the most part, people had stayed clear of the football player.

“Why so gloom?” Emberly asked as she looked up at Baekhyun who was staring off into space. This was the first time Emberly had seen Baek today since he had driven her to school that morning.

Baekhyun took a step forward as the lunch line began to move. “Oh, it’s nothing,” he responded.

Em frowned at his response but decided not to push it any further. She spooned some mashed potatoes onto her lunch plate as the lined moved around the buffet. After getting drinks and paying, the couple ventured out into the cafeteria to find a seat. Emberly felt shy as she saw people staring at her.

Or were they staring at Baekhyun?

She immediately realized the reason behind Baek’s sulky mood. Em looked up at her boyfriend sympathetically wondering how he must be feeling.

“Let’s sit there,” Baekhyun announced, pointing to a table filled with his friends. Emberly followed him as he led her to two empty seats. As they sat down, conversations stopped and everyone’s eyes immediately shot towards the couple. A few cheerleaders started whispering, shooting Em dirty looks.

“Oh, uh, hey man,” Kai said to Baek, forcing a smile.

Baekhyun looked around a little confused. “It is okay if we sit here, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course!” Suho answered, but he sounded unsure. “You sit here everyday, right?” He let out a forced laugh.

At that moment, Sehun’s girlfriend Olivia leaned over and whispered something in Sehun’s ear. Sehun’s face looked uncomfortable, as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, actually guys,” he started. “Olivia and the other cheerleaders aren’t exactly… Comfortable… With her being here.” He proceeded to point at Emberly.

“Whoa, what?!” Baekhyun blurted. “What did Em, do?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know, Baekhyun,” Sierra suddenly blurted from the other side of the table. “She was super rude to Sophie at the party on Friday night and you know it. She completely ruined her cheerleading uniform.” Sierra put her arm around the girl named Sophie, acting as if the whole world was raining down on them.

Emberly rolled her eyes. “Okay, for the last time, it was an accident,” she said, trying to defend herself.

“Whatever,” responded Sierra, refusing to look Em in the eyes.

Sehun and Kai gave Baekhyun pleading looks. Baek knew they were between a rock and a hard place, so he decided to just make it easy for them. “Come on, Em,” Baek announced. Emberly looked up at him confused. “We’ll find somewhere else to sit.”

As Em followed Baek to a new table, she couldn’t help but notice that his face had fell even further. She rubbed his back as he started eating his lunch, hoping that he would be okay.

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Gentry High School- Math Hall

Monday, September 29

8:00 a.m.

Two weeks had passed since the day in the cafeteria. Things had gotten slightly better for Baekhyun as the days had progressed. It was no longer awkward being around his friends and he no longer received strange stares while walking down the hall.

But, now, every cheerleader hated Emberly like never before. Emberly and Baekhyun still couldn’t really hang out around Baek’s friends comfortably if their girlfriends were present. Even though Em just waved their behavior off like it was no big deal, she did start to feel a little hurt on the inside. Baekhyun knew this even though Emberly tried hard to hide it.

Standing in front of her first class of the day, Emberly gave Baekhyun a kiss on the cheek as he dropped her off and went his separate way. This week was Homecoming Week and, to celebrate the festivities, every day had a different theme. Today’s theme was Super Heros.

As she walked into her math class, Em saw her friends and classmates dressed in an array of colors. She spotted Superman, The Flash, Spider-Man, WonderWoman, and even a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips as she admired all of the make-shift costumes.

“Nice costume,” Minseok said as Emberly took a seat beside him.

“What costume?” Em asked jokingly, pointing to her clothing which consisted of jeans and a blouse.

“Exactly,” Minseok responded playfully. “I was hoping you’d come dressed as Black Widow or something like that.”

Emberly let out a laugh at her friend’s comment. “Well, you can’t say very much. I didn’t know super heroes wore cargo shorts and Converse,” she said motioning towards his normal, everyday ensemble.

“Hey, I’m starting a new trend, okay?” Emberly just smiled at Min and shook her head.

As Emberly turned away, Minseok continued to admire her every feature. Thinking to himself, he believed she would have looked great in anything she had chosen to wear.

“Emberly, really?” one of Em’s classmates suddenly asked as she walked over to Emberly’s desk wearing a Cat Woman costume. “And you too, Min?! Why didn’t you guys dress up?”

“Oh, you know us,” Min replied. “We aren’t… Really…”

“Into that kind of stuff,” Emberly finished with a light laugh.

“You two just don’t have any school spirit,” the girl stated playfully.

“Well, it’s not that we don’t have any school spirit,” Em countered.

“It’s just that we don’t have enough school spirit,” Minseok added. Emberly and Minseok looked at each other, both laughing at their in-sync responses. Their friend just laughed and shook her head at them as she walked to her seat.

All of a sudden, in came Sierra. Every eye, particularly every male eye, turned towards her as she walked across the classroom. She was dressed as a female version of Captain America and she had really taken advantage of the super hero spandex aesthetic.

“Nice outfit,” Sierra spat sarcastically at Emberly, rolling her eyes as she walked pass Em to her desk. “Did you mean to dress up as a librarian?” A few of Sierra’s friends giggled at the comment.

Emberly turned away, pursing her lips. “Did you mean to dress up as a hooker?” she mumbled under her breath. Minseok, who had heard the comment, looked at Em trying to hold in his laughter. Emberly couldn’t help but smile smugly at herself as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

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After class had ended, all the math students shuffled out into the hallway. As Minseok turned to head towards the stairwell, Sierra popped up from behind the corner. She stood there looking at him, making Minseok a little uncomfortable.

“Uh, can I help you?” he asked hesitantly.

“Minsuck, right? Or Mimsook?” the girl started. “Yeah! Mimsook that’s it-”

“It’s Minseok, actually,” he corrected, obviously annoyed.

“Yeah, whatever. Anyway,” Sierra put one hand on his shoulder, “I just thought I would give you some advice.”

Minseok looked at his shoulder with a disgusted expression. “And what exactly would that be?” he asked as he picked up her hand with two fingers and dropped it.

“Don’t think that people don’t notice how you look at that Emberly girl.” Minseok perked up at the mention of Em’s name. “It’s so obvious that you’re in love with her,” Sierra stated bluntly.

Minseok’s eyes widened in shock at how forward she was being. He then scoffed at the comment, not wanting to reveal his true feelings to the school gossip. “What the heck are you talking about?” he responded.

“Don’t play dumb,” she smiled, tapping the tip of his nose with her finger. Minseok’s face scrunched in distaste. “Just get to the point,” he demanded, swatting her hand away from his face.

“The point is… I’m pretty sure you’ve got a chance with her,” Sierra lied.

“Ha, no,” Minseok responded immediately. “There’s no way. She’s in love with Baekhyun.”

Sierra rolled her eyes at the mention of the couple. “Yes, yes. We all know she’s in love with Baekhyun. But… Word has it,” Sierra leaned in, dropping her voice to a whisper, “that Baek isn’t really feeling it anymore.”

“Whoa, what?” Min questioned, no longer able to hold back his interest.

“Yes, it’s true!” Sierra fibbed once again as she put her arm around Min and started walking. They strolled slowly down the hallway, Minseok entranced in her every word. “Once Baekhyun does finally break up with her, which I’m sure will be soon, she’s going to need someone to run to. And that’s where you come in.”

Minseok’s eyes widened at the thought of finally having Emberly in his arms. “You know, you’re right,” he agreed. “She’s going to need someone to comfort her-”

Sierra nodded her head in agreement.

“And when she sees how comforting and understanding I am-”

Sierra continued nodding.

“She’ll finally realize that we’re meant to be together, after all!” His voice had escalated into a louder tone, excitement overflowing from his words.

“Exactly!” Sierra faked smiled as she removed her arm from Minseok’s shoulders. Minseok looked at the girl, his face beaming. “Thank you so much Sierra!” he exclaimed as he started to walk away with a wave.

Sierra just stood there smiling and waving as she watched Minseok practically skip away. er, she thought to herself, amazed that her plan had actually worked.

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Sierra’s Bedroom

4:00 p.m.

“Wait,” Olivia said, sitting on Sierra’s bed across from her best friend. “So we are trying to get her a new boyfriend? We actually want Emberly to be happy?”

“Who cares if she’s happy!” Sierra blurted. “I don’t even know if she will actually fall for that dork. The point is she won’t be with Baekhyun anymore and that’s all that matters.” She smiled happily, giddy at the thought of Baek being single.

“But how are we going to pull that off?” Olivia questioned, confused with Sierra’s plan. “Everyone knows that Baekhyun adores Emberly. Like a lot. Like almost too much.”

“Just trust me,” Sierra smirked, rubbing her palms together. “I’ve got this all figured out.”

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Later that night, Sierra phoned her boyfriend. Picking up her cell phone, she selected Jongdae’s contact and hit ‘call.’ “Hey babe,” he answered.

“Hello my darling,” she responded with an extra sweetness in her voice.

“Okay, what do you want?” Jongdae’s voice asked through the speaker. Sierra frowned at his serious tone. “Can’t a girl just greet her man lovingly from time-to-time? No questions asked?”

“Ha. Yeah, any other girl could. But not you babe,” Jongdae responded with a laugh. Sierra giggled in agreement, amused at how Jongdae knew her so well. “Okay, you’re right,” she said. “I actually do need a favor.”

“Alright. Shoot.”

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Gentry High School- Boys’ Locker Room

Tuesday, September 30

7:30 a.m.

After placing his gym bag inside the metal box, Jongdae closed his locker door, securing his belongings. Walking across the room, he took a seat on the wooden bench that lined one of the locker room walls. He sat quietly, contemplating about the conversation he had had with Sierra just last night.

As the locker room door opened, Jongdae’s eyes shot up and met the face of exactly who he was waiting on. He watched as the quarterback strolled to his own locker. Getting up, Jongdae wiped his palms down the front of his legs, letting the fabric from his pants soak up the sweat.

You’ve got this Jongdae, he thought to himself. It’s not that big of a deal.

He strolled over to Baekhyun and cleared his throat. “Hey man,” he began. “Do you think maybe we could… Uh… Talk?”

Baekhyun looked up at his friend with a puzzled look on his face. “Yeah. Sure, dude. What’s up?” he answered, not sure of what to expect.

“Well,” Jongdae started, “we’re good friends right? And you know I only want to see you happy, right?”

Baekhyun nodded, still puzzled, and gave Jongdae a look that said 'Keep going…’

Jongdae rubbed the back of neck as he continued. “And you know that me and all the guys really do like Emberly… But it’s just that…”

“Wait, hold on,” Baekhyun interrupted, confused. "What does this have to do with Em?“

"Well, actually it has everything to do with Emberly,” answered Jongdae nervously. “I’m really sorry, man. I didn’t want to have to say this. It’s just that Sierra-”

Baekhyun’s cheeks started to turn red with anger at the mention of the girl’s name. “Wait, Sierra? You’re kidding me right?!” Baekhyun blurted. “What did she say?!”

“She just asked me to tell you that… Well… We just really can’t have Emberly hanging around in our group anymore. The cheerleaders just don’t like her and-”

“Oh, so just because the cheerleaders don’t like her means I have to rearrange my whole life for them? Come on Jongdae, I thought you were better than that…” Baekhyun looked away, completely blown away at what his so-called friend was requesting.

Jongdae became a little flustered at Baekhyun’s response. “Well, it’s not like anyone asked you to pick a girlfriend from the math club!” Jongdae suddenly spat, trying his best to defend his situation. “You could’ve had any cheerleader you wanted. Or even the class president would have been fine-”

“Okay, first off,” Baek butted in, “Emberly is in the science club. And second, when the hell does it matter 'where my girlfriend came from?!’ You should just be happy that I found someone I loved!”

Baekhyun’s voice had now risen to a shout and other football players had began to walk over towards the conflict. “Hey, are you guys okay over here?” Suho asked carefully as he looked at both of his friends.

“Actually, Suho, we’re not,” answered Baek forcefully. "Jongdae here seems to think he should let his girlfriend control, not only his life, but my life, too. Tell them, Jongdae,“ Baekhyun motioned towards the growing group of football players that had gathered, "what exactly she put you up to.”

“Well…She…Uh,” Jongdae stuttered. “She asked me to tell Baekhyun that he should, uh, keep Emberly away from our group…” He rubbed the back of his neck again as he looked towards the floor.

“Can you believe that?!” Baekhyun spat. “Please tell me that no one else agrees with this.”

The group of guys all began to look around at each other, no one wanting to speak first. Finally, Sehun said cautiously, “Actually… I think it’s kind of a good idea…”

Baekhyun’s eyes suddenly widened in shock at his friend’s words. “Yeah… I’m real sorry Baek,” chimed in Kai. “But I think it might be best.” Chanyeol and Suho nodded in agreement.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Baekhyun said in disbelief as he turned away, putting a hand over his face.

As the group started to mumble and chat amongst themselves about the situation, Jongdae cautiously moved closer to Baekhyun. “Hey, look man,” he said in a low voice. Baek turned to him, his face now completely red. “I’m just in a really tough spot, here. Sierra, she’s my girlfriend, and she’s also kinda a big deal here at Gentry. You know that. So I’ve got to keep her happy. And if that means keeping her away from people she doesn’t like, well then I have to do what I have to do.”

Baekhyun honestly couldn’t believe a word he was hearing. He scoffed as he sat down on the bench, burying his head in his hands. “Do you even hear yourself, Jongdae?” he asked, looking up, his face almost pleading.

“Baekhyun…,” Jongdae said, trying to reason. “I’m sorry but your girlfriend just isn’t popular.” He actually looked saddened when he said it, as if he really did wish the situation could be different.

As Baek looked up at him, Jongdae’s upset look made him sick. “Not popular? Ha. Okay,” Baekhyun responded. “Well at least my girlfriend isn’t a .”

Jongdae’s eyes widened in a mixture of shock and rage. Baekhyun ignored his teammate’s reaction, quickly stood up and grabbed his backpack as he started walking towards the door.

Suddenly, a strong hand latched onto Baek’s shoulder quickly turning him around. He was staring into the face of Jongdae, anger evident all over his body. His face was red, his fists were clenched, his jaw was tight. “What did you say about Sier-”

“Jongdae…,” Baekhyun stopped him mid-sentence. “Just don’t.”

And with that, he walked right out of the locker room.

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Gentry High School- Workout Room

1:00 p.m.

Later that day, Baekhyun decided to skip his art class. He knew it wasn’t the best decision, but he had too much on his mind. Hiding out in the P.E. workout room, he started to lift some weights to blow off some steam.

Why is everyone so against Emberly and me being together? he thought, as he breezed through a set of bench presses. My parents. The cheerleaders. Even my own friends.

Baekhyun continued to reflect on his current situation. Sweat started running down his face and back as he worked harder and harder with the weights, trying to get rid of his frustration.

When he finished, he got up and grabbed a towel to wipe off the sweat. But as he took a seat, recovering from the work out, he didn’t seem to feel any better. Coming to a conclusion, he placed his head in his hands and let out a huge sigh, knowing exactly what he had to do.