Hello everyone! ^^ this is my first fanfiction ever o.o. Plz review!!!!!

And of course I don't own shinee or any other member of other groups…I wish though : )

"First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity." George Bernard Shaw

"Hello Burbank High…." I muttered darkly as I dragged my feet up the stairs, entering the fancy school bus and making my way through the row seats, earning whispers and a few 'he looks so hot' and 'wow every year he gets better and better' and whatsoever.

The school bus was filled with eager teenagers, excited about the new school year they had ahead of them. Some where laughing, others just chatting enthusiastically, others gossiping about who ditch who during summer, etc…everything was just the same.

Every freaking first day was the same. There was nothing new, nothing interesting.

Oh! Sorry…my name is Kim Kibum (but everybody calls me key…don't ask why). I'm a junior in high school and I hate the first days of school. I'm usually a cool laid back person with few friends…but not today. I don't know, but I just find simply hypocrite how everybody pretends to be happy about meeting each other after such a long time, but internally just criticizing you from head to toe. I just basically become a loner this day, alienating myself from this sick monotonous ritual.

I sat at the back of the bus, tuning everyone out, not really caring about talking to anyone. My friends understand me so they just sit separately, giving me some space which I gracefully appreciate. I stared aimlessly at the window, seeing how the trees from the sidewalk become just a blur of green as we pass by. The morning was unusually cold, so you could see people on the street with sweaters and coats, walking fast in order to arrive to their jobs and stay away from the cold. I hugged my waistcoat subconsciously, since the bus heater wasn't doing a very good job. Even thought the school uniform was pretty thick, consisting of a black long sleeved shirt with a black tie, a gray waistcoat on top and black pants, there were several people on the bus wearing light sweaters. The girls were the most disadvantaged since they had to deal with the high skirts exposing their black tight-clad legs.

Suddenly all the chatting and laughing turned into murmurs as we came to another bus stop to pick more students. 'So typical…' I thought, but didn't pay much attention, focusing on making patterns on the window, since the windows were all foggy from the cold. "Is this sit taken?." I wiped my head to the direction of the voice and saw this cute boy staring anxiously at me with a shy smile playing on his lips. He was shorter than me, with big brown innocent eyes, small round face, delicately defined features, and a really nice smile. My eyes diverted to his clothe as I realized he wasn't wearing the school uniform, but a plain black hoodie and skinnies. 'Scholarship…interesting' I thought. It was extremely rare to see people with scholarships in this kind of high school; he's the first one I've ever seen in person.

"Sorry to bother, I'll find another place to sit" he said at last, pouting as he took my staring as a 'get away' signal. I finally realized I've been staring too long to consider proper and when I saw the cute little pout I chuckled.

"It's ok you can sit here", as soon as the words came out, a huge adorable smile plastered on the boys face as he hurriedly took a seat. "Thanks! Everybody kept starring at me with this scary expression…like I was growing a foot on my head or something that I couldn't find anywhere else to sit".

"Don't worry, everyone is like that today so you're safe here" I said laughing at the relived expression of the boy. "ahh! Sorry for being so rude, my name is Taemin and I'm new" I saw Taemin's radiant smile and I instantly knew he had a pure innocent soul. "Hi Taemin my name is Kim Kibum but everybody calls me Key" I said when I realized that everybody was still staring at Taemin. I sighed, acknowledging all the attention the poor boy was attracting. I felt bad for him actually. He didn't seem the type of person that liked to attract attention and he just had to go and attract more attention that he already had with his clothe by sitting with me. I could see Taemin fidgeting with the hem of his sweater, head bowed down; obviously embarrassed by all the looks and stares he was receiving. I stared coldly, clearly telling all the people that were staring to back off and in cue they all went back to normal, getting the message. I still could feel he was nervous so I tried to make small talk to help him a little

"Hey Taemin…you're a junior right?" he just looked so small and young, I had to ask.

"yep! I know I'm small but I'm still at my growth spurt" he said posing like he was showing his 'muscles'. "aigoo Taemin your such a cutie" I cooed not resisting the urge to pat his head. He pouted but didn't object at my touch. I could totally see myself and Taemin becoming friends already. A few minutes later we were already chatting animatedly and I thanked God for making this dreadful day more interesting by having him here. He later told me that at his past school everyone made fun of him for being so short and nerdy so he applied for a scholarship at Bumrock High and to his surprise he got accepted over 200 students who applied for it too. I was amazed too; he didn't seem the type to be THAT nerdy…no offense.

We soon arrived at Burbank High School and I grumbled as I saw the main building sticking far ahead. Everyone rushed out of the bus, but we took our sweet time. "Wow… is so big!" he said in awe as he saw the school entrance; it was a perfectly justified expression considering that Burbank High was the biggest and most prestigious school in the country. 'Prestigious my ass' I thought gloomily as we crossed the school gate after Taemin showed his acceptance letter to the guards, and started climbing the big set of stairs that were at the entrance. The high school grounds were actually quite beautiful. All the school campus was surrounded by gardens; there were also mini plazas for students to relax in. Four big white buildings where constructed at the corners of the big main plaza with a huge monument of the founder in the middle. Everything in this High School screamed 'RICH' and it's true, since the student body consisted on rich wealthy people and a few who had scholarships, like Taemin.

So yeah…I'm rich…but not snobby like most of the people here. I try to be as normal as you could possibly be while having millions of dollars on your bank account. The school tried to hide the fact that all their students, with a few exceptions, where ridiculously wealthy, so a few years ago they implemented this school policy in order to 'normalize' the students, obligating us to ride a school bus, like all the other schools. There are 8 buses in total, distributed in different areas. The whole 'normalize' thing went to the gutter…why? It didn't help the fact that the busses are guarded by several police officers, the s.w.a.t, and helicopters…EVERYDAY. Lots of students objected to this policy though, so the school and the students came to an agreement and now you can go by yourself after classes. And by yourself I mean being picked up by a fancy limousine, or riding your Ferrari, porshe, or whatever. Just the students with scholarships rode the busses back home.

"Pretty cool huh?" we finally reached the top of the stairs and made our way to the main building. "Yeah…everything is soo elegant and…expensive" he laughed nervously at the last part, eyeing warily the huge water fountain in the center of the main floor, already intimidated by the whole environment. "mmm but don't worry in no time your gonna learn to hate it…like me" I said happily, smiling brightly at the last part, earning a chuckle from Taemin. I grabbed his arm and dragged him through the elegant corridors, finally arriving to the administration area.

It was already packed with students from all levels, so we had to wait for our turn to grab our schedule and to our surprise we had the first four classes together, lunch 1, and extracurricular classes, but it's was obvious we weren't gonna have those two together since it's your personal choice to which one you want to subscribe. "Lunch 1?." Taemin asked as we where making our way out of the main building to the building labeled 'C', already late to our first class, math. "yep we have two scheduled lunches, lunch 1 and 2. Depending on your schedule that's the lunch you get, but it's the same thing, what changes is the hour you have it. For example lunch 1 is after four classes and lunch 2 is after 3" once I finished my little explanation a rounded 'o' formed on his lips as he understood. We finally arrived to the classroom, and to our luck the teacher wasn't there yet. I patted Taemin's shoulder as he gave me a puzzled look, "ah my young padawan, this is where we most depart…you have to wait for the teacher to come since your new" he laughed at my silly farewell but still nodded. "I'll see you in a few" I waved and made my way in, not after wishing him good luck with his self presentation, earning a petrified expression from him. Seriously…he didn't expect to just go inside and sit did he?.

A few minutes later Mr. Baker came in and all you could hear were the rustling of chairs as everyone settled on their seats. "Good Morning. For those who don't know me, I'm Mr. Baker and I'm going to be your math teacher for this year on the Junior B section. I hope you had a good vacation and stayed out of trouble. I can see some familiar faces" he looked cautiously at a group of boys at the back earning whistles and harsh laughing in response. Mr. Baker just shook his head in disapproval but continued, "And some new faces too. I hope you all came in your best behavior and start with a positive attitude this year. On another note, we have a new student joining us" everything became silent and low murmurs started filling the room. "Now everyone settle down. He won one of the few scholarships the school gives away every year. I want you to be warm and welcoming. Please come in" he made a hand gesture towards the door and the murmurs became louder as Taemin stepped through the door. I could see Taemin's scare expression as who took a look at the students only to lower his head, embarrassed by all the negative comments he was getting.

"he's poor…such a shame"

"I didn't even know the school still gave scholarships"

"omg…look at his clothes…"

"man! he's soo poor he can't even afford the school uniform"

"I bet they gave him the scholarship just for charity"

Even if they were low murmurs, they didn't go unnoticed to Taemin's ears as he lowered his head deeper, in shame. I realized my knuckles were white from clenching my fists too hard. I could feel the nails digging into my palms, dragging blood in the process. 'How can they be so fucked up!!?' I thought harshly as I was about to stand up and tell everyone to fuck off, not caring about getting a detention.

"Please everyone be nice…" I heard a soft voice plead. I saw everyone turn to look for the source of the voice, their eyes falling on a boy sitting in the second row, Nickhun. Everyone grudgingly settled down and became quite, since Nickhun is highly respected for being a member of the school's committee. Taemin gave a thankful smile to Nickhun, receiving a nod in exchange. "Hello…My name is Lee Taemin. I hoped to we can all get along this year." He bowed and quickly took a seat in front of me, since it was the only empty seat available. The class started and everyone forgot about Taemin for a moment and focused on groaning and protesting at the problem Mr. Baker was writing on the board, a 'warm up problem' he called it, to wake our lazy mind up. I tore a piece of paper from my notebook, scribbled something down and crumpled it before throwing it at Taemin's desk. I saw his shoulders jerk up as he was startled by the sudden crumpled paper on his desk.

'hey ar u ok? Crappy classmates rite : /?' I could picture Taemin laughing at my rushed handwriting. He quickly wrote something and tossed it back without looking. I was careful that no one saw this little exchange between Taemin and me. I didn't want to cause him more unwanted attention. 'hahaha I'm ok. I'm used to being treated like this anyway so it's nothing new : P' I frowned at this. He really must have been bullied pretty bad at his last school to have that kind of thinking.

'don't mind them…they're a bunch of stupid butt holes xD' I threw the paper ball but aimed wrong and hit Taemin's head instead. He turned to look at me rubbing his head and pouting. I chuckled softly and mouthed a sorry. He turned back and while he was writing a reply I saw a kid from across the classroom, looking at us with a curious expression. My face turned colder suddenly and I raised an eyebrow at him. The kid suddenly turned panicky and quickly turned back on his seat. I was absorbed in this little display that I didn't see Taemin throwing the paper ball back, so it landed right on my face, poking my eye in the process. I grunted, rubbing my eye 'damn he has good aim' I thought sourly as I open the paper.

'ok kibummie…I got the feeling that you don't like people calling you Key so…I can call you kibummie right? :]' I smiled softly at this. 'The kid is really perceptive'. I felt a pang of pain on my palm as I took the crumpled paper with my left hand, and when I looked I was surprise to see blood gushing out. Apparently my nails dug deeper than I thought. The blood was slowly dripping from my palm to the desk, 'I have to get this cuts clean'. I quickly write Taemin back and grabbed a tissue from my backpack. I cleaned the mess on the table and wrapped another tissue on my left hand, stopping the blood. I saw Taemin turn his head to smile at me, happy about my acceptance on the little nickname. I smiled back and I felt the pain on my palm increasing. "I'm gonna go to the nursery ok? If I'm not back before lunch, just save me a seat" I murmured and saw him go pale with concern, "don't worry, take this. It's a map of all the classrooms you need to go to, so try and not get lost." I gave him the handmade map I made while he was giving his self presentation and patted his head. I stood up, and everyone stared curiously at me as I made my way to the teacher. After a few moments the teacher nodded and wrote me a nursery pass. I took a last glance at Taemin and gave him a reassuring smile, earning a few gasps from the class.

I strode through the hallways as I passed several classrooms, arriving finally to the nursery. I opened the door and a curious Mrs. Taylor greeted me as I took a seat in a chair, next to some guy who couldn't stop sneezing. The nursery was pretty big, and it was equipped like a hospital. Being the first day of school it was almost empty, aside from the sneezing guy and a girl who had a nosebleed.

"Hello Mrs. Taylor" She smiled warmly at me as she was attending the sneezing guy. "Hello Kibum what can I do for you today?" I unwrapped the tissue from my hand and a surprised gasp came from the three persons in the room. "Oh my…what happened?" she quickly ditched sneeze guy and grabbed a couple of things from the cabinets situated on the back. I sighed when I saw alcohol, oxygenated water, and gauzes on her hands. "umm the wood from my desk was chipped and I wasn't careful enough" I lied. She didn't need to know the truth.

"You should get that desk fix then. It's dangerous to leave it like that" I cringed when she passed an alcohol swap through the cuts, burning my skin. I bit my lip and tilted my head to the other side, closing my eyes as Mrs. Taylor cleaned my cuts without mercy. After a couple of minutes that felt like an eternity, I felt soft cotton against my skin, followed by gauzes tightly secured. I exhaled, finally feeling a tingly sensation on my hand, pain numbed. "ok now stay here because I might have to change the bandages again if they get soaked" I groaned hitting the back of my head with the wall. 'Pure torture' I thought as Mrs. Taylor just laughed and stood up, going to check on the nosebleed girl. I closed my eyes, resting my head on the wall, enjoying the way the air conditioner felt against my sweaty forehead.

"I'll be right back ok? I'm out of cotton wool balls" I heard the door close and the three of us were left alone. I opened my eyes and realized the nosebleed girl and sneeze guy were starring at me, but quickly blushed and look the other way when I caught them starring. I sighed closing my eyes again, feeling their eyes burning holes in my body. I was used to being stared at. It's something I hated but couldn't help for the simple fact that I was…popular. Yep, I'm the most popular Junior in the C section, and one of the most popular of the Juniors in general and the entire school. C section? You must be wondering…well the entire school is divided in sections. From Kindergarten to High School. There are four sections, A B C and D. Each year you get changed into a different section. They don't sort you for grades or anything, just randomly in order for you to 'mingle' with other people. In my case, all the people that are Juniors like me, even thought we're the same grade, we have different schedules and the only way to see the people from other grades and sections is at lunch. Like I explained to Taemin earlier there are two lunches, and they have a cafeteria for middle school and another one for High School, since the middle school is in another campus. But the term 'cafeteria' is so wrong, since it looks more like a 5 star restaurant than a school cafeteria. Another place you get to mingle with Juniors from different sections and Seniors is in the extracurricular classes that take place after lunch.

The door suddenly opened and a big bulky guy came in, looking around with a puzzled expression on his face. "Mrs. Taylor will be back shortly" the nosebleed girl said and the bulky guy just nodded and took a seat. His eyes roamed around the room, not fixating in anything particular until his eyes turned to the size of saucer plates as he realized I was in the room. I just closed my eyes only to open them again when I heard the door open again. But instead of Mrs. Taylor, a gorgeous boy came in. He was taller than me, with a lean figure, not so bulky but still muscular enough. He had big brown eyes that could suck you in if you weren't careful. A beautiful breathtaking smile adorned his face as he asked the girl the whereabouts of Mrs. Taylor. The poor girl was so stunned by the perfect boy standing right in front of her, that only the words 'gone' and 'be right back' came out of her mouth as stutters. The gorgeous boy just nodded thanking her and took a seat beside the, now nervous, bulky guy. I took notice that he was older than me too, so he must be a Senior in the C section, judging by the pin he had on his waistcoat that had "C section" labeled on it. The environment in the room turned really uncomfortable as I saw the girl and the two boys fidgeting nervously. They must feel intimidated by me AND by the gorgeous guy. The said boy was just staring at the fish tank and I remembered I still had the blood stained tissue in my not gauzed hand so I got up and threw it in the garbage. I grabbed a magazine on my way back to the seat, and started looking aimlessly through the pages. I felt someone looking at me, but I knew it must be some of the two guys or the girl perhaps. I adverted my eyes to the front, making a quick scan through the seats across the room, and in fact the girl and the bulky guy were staring at me, and as I was about divert my attention back to the magazine, when I caught a pair of curious brown eyes staring at me too.

'Why is HE looking at me?' I thought as I suddenly started to feel nervous. I felt confused as to why I felt nervous; I was already used to being stare at. I was mostly popular by my money and not mention looks. I think I'm the kind of person that stands out from the crowd, which I hate very much. I don't like to have this kind of attention, I just want to be a normal kid, but my asymmetrical multicolored colored fringe, auburn eyes, lean body and huge bank account weren't features that helped you to 'blend in' exactly. 'Omg why is he still starring!?' I hissed quietly as I strictly kept my head down, covering my eyes with my fringe. I could feel his eyes burning holes in my head, and I thanked God when Mrs. Taylor finally came back, with a big bag of cotton on her arms. "wow we have quite a crowd here" she said noticing the two more additions that arrived while she was gone. Once she stored the cotton bag she proceeded to assist the bulky boy that had a sore throat. She then finally dismissed sneeze boy and nosebleed girl. And to my utter dismay only gorgeous guy and me where left. "Lee Jinki, I don't see you here very often, what's the problem?". Now everything made sense.

Lee Jinki…he was by far the most popular guy in school. He was in fact a Senior like I predicted. Every boy and girl in this school drooled over him, and it was natural since he was perfection incarnated. He was in the badminton team as well as the soccer team, so that explains the toned body. He was the teacher's favorite student and everyone just adored him because even thought he was extremely rich and good looking he was a pretty down to earth boy. Of course I've never seen him until now. I know about him from what people have told me but…I didn't expect him to be THIS good looking. I came out of my thoughts as I saw Mrs. Taylor leave Jinki and approach me. "Now let's see how those cuts are doing" she grabbed my hand and I saw red spots on the gauzes. "We're gonna have to clean those again". I groaned banging my head softly on the wall as I saw her retrieve to the cabinets, to get all her utensils of horror. I sighed defeated and just closed my eyes preparing myself for the torture.

"Does it hurt that bad?" I heard a sweet soft voice across the room and I opened my eyes and saw Jinki looking at me with curious eyes. A few minutes later I realized he was waiting for an answer and I blushed slightly. "Yeah…it's like a stick going through your ass kind of pain" I said without thinking and before I knew it Jinki was laughing. His laugh as well as his voice was sweet and musical, as cheesy as that sounds. I marveled at the way his eyes disappeared with his laughter. After he finished laughing he threw me a crocked smile leaving me breathless.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it gets better" I smiled at his comforting words, but the smile quickly disappeared as Mrs Taylor took a seat in front of me and proceeded to redo my bandages. After the torture was over my forehead was all clammy and I was panting slightly. My cheeks were burning furiously, but not because I was exhausted from the pain…no…it was from pure and utter embarrassment. I was so absorbed in the pain that I bit my lip and moaned several time arching my back at the contact of my damaged skin with the alcohol, realizing only when it was over that there was another human being beside Mrs. Taylor in the room. I tried to avoid meeting his eyes, but failed and I saw he had this unreadable expression on his face that I couldn't figure out. 'Maybe he's freaked out' I thought sourly as Mrs. Taylor grabbed a thermometer from her table and took his temperature. 'ahh he has fever' his eyes never left me as Mrs. Taylor proceeded to take his temperature. The way his eyes kept staring at me intently made me feel exposed somehow. "Well it seems your fever is all gone now so you can go back to your class" she said and Jinki thanked her as he got up and walked to the door. As he was about to twist the door knob he looked at me and smile gently "Take care of your hand". I just smiled and nodded as he opened the door and left.

I stayed a few more minutes and when my cuts finally stopped bleeding I left. I saw people talking and walking in the hallways and as I looked at my clock I realized 15 minutes have already passed from lunch. "Taemin must be waiting" I said to myself as I hurriedly made my way to the cafeteria. From afar I could see the cafeteria was packed so I hoped Taemin saved me a seat. As I proceeded to open the doors I was greeted by a sight that turned my blood cold.

The entire cafeteria turned quite as I entered and I could only hear the laughter of the 4 guys in the middle, circling Taemin in the middle. His food was sprawled in the floor and I could see the tray shaking in his hands, fear the dominant expression in his eyes. "What's wrong? I told you to clean it" the tallest guy said, earning a laugh from the other 3 as they saw how Taemin's hands were shaking. "Hey Jay I think he doesn't want to" another guy said as he nudged the taller boy. Jay stared at Taemin for a moment, "Then I'm gonna have to teach you to obey your elders" and when I saw he was about to grab Taemin I knew it was my time to step in.

"What the HELL do you think your doing?" the 4 guys wiped their head on my direction and I saw they looked confused, maybe pondering why I was interfering in behalf of the new boy. "ah Key! Good to see you man!! Looking good" Jay said nervously as he saw my dark expression. "Kibummie" Taemin said suddenly, running to my side. I turned my gaze to Taemin and switched my expression to concern as I grabbed his shoulder, examining him for any injure. It was amazing how overprotective I've become of the little boy in such short notice. I heard all the people gasp and whisper as I softly patted Taemin's head, arranging a few strands that were loose on the way. "Taeminnie are you ok? They didn't hurt you right?" I murmured as he laughed at my nickname but shocked his head, biting his lower lip nervously as he stared back at the 4 now petrified boys in the center. The 4 guys, as everyone else, were utterly surprise at the close relationship I had established with Taemin in such short time, heck, even I was surprise. I'm not the type to take fond of someone so fast, and it was already known since I had such few friends that I could truly call my friends. I actually can count them with my fingers.

I turned my eyes to the 4 boys again, pushing Taemin behind me. I strode slowly to the center of the room. "mmm Key we didn't know he was your friend" Jay stutter taking a few steps back when he saw I didn't falter my walk. I stopped a few meters in front of him.

"Key I'm sorry, I promise I-"he flinched when I shot my palm up, signaling him to be quiet. All his cowardly friends where shaking with fear behind him, but I focused my attention on Jay, their leader. "Jay how is your father doing?" I asked out of nowhere. I saw his puzzled face as he crooked his head to the side "mm his doing good this days…" realization hit him as horror tinted his features. "good, it would suck if he was in trouble or something" I said nonchalantly as I stepped up and grabbed his collarbone in order to pull him slowly towards me, so that I could whisper easily in his ear. "if you so much as to touch a hair of Taemin's head, hell if you so much as to GLANCE his way, consider yourself dead, and don't even bother coming to school the next day…I wonder what everyone would think if they find out that your father hired a whore to fuck him, and now his getting sued for not paying her" I let go on his collarbone and smile sweetly as Jay's face showed no sign of emotion.

"Now Jay-Jay don't you have something to say to Taemin?" I saw Jay's friends stare at him nervously, unaware of the little exchange I just had with him. As they saw him move slowly towards Taemin, I could see everyone was anxious about what was going to happen next. I could feel Taemin became nervous as he saw Jay approaching him, "it's ok, trust me" I whispered. He relaxed a little only to gasp along with everyone in the cafeteria as they saw how Jay dropped to his knees in front of Taemin and bowed his head. "I'm sorry Taemin, please forgive me and my friends". I knew Jay wasn't a bad person actually; he just crossed the lines now and then, so he had to be scolded sometimes.

Taemin just nodded awkwardly. Jay stood up and bowed his head towards me, mumbling a sorry once again before exiting the cafeteria, followed by his astonished friends. I sighed, and realized everyone was still staring. "Show is over" I said roughly and in cue everyone continued with their previous activities, but still you could hear comments here and there, and anxious glances were still thrown towards me and Taemin, more discretely though. I turned to Taemin again and saw he was still biting his lower lip, scared probably with the whole thing. I smiled and grabbed his hand as I dragged him to the buffet area…yeah buffet. "wha-…what are you doing" I just grabbed a tray and start stuffing it with food randomly, not caring for anything in particular. "duh, you dropped your food remember?" I pinch the tip of his nose, and I saw him smile, finally relaxing. "Yeah but I already spent my lunch money".

"Don't you have a scholarship that pays for this?" I thought scholarships paid for everything, even your photocopies and stuff. "mm actually is not a full scholarship, it's only half so I have to pay for everything else".

"wow that sucks…" I muttered as I quietly went to the cashier handing her my id card. "yeah it's fine tho-…hey! You don't have to pay for my food too!!" rolling my eyes, I just grabbed the tray and headed to the second floor…aha, second floor. The cafeteria is so big it has 2 floors, both with buffets on each one. I found a place where we could hide from all the curious stares. Taemin was still upset as I pushed half of the food towards him.

"It's ok Taemin I actually didn't pay for it, I have it for free" I saw Taemin's eyes widen in surprise before nodding reculantly. "mm in that case…I guess it's ok, but only this one time ok?" I rolled my eyes but accepted, knowing it was already a lost cause. We stared eating quietly, comforted in the silence, but I knew there was something nagging me in the back of my head that I needed to get out fast. "I'm sorry for what happened back there…you must have been scared with my attitude" He took a bite and lifted his eyes to look at me with a confused expression. I waited as he chewed and finally swallowed.

"Of course not…I was actually grateful that you stood up for me. I didn't know you were THIS popular though. I mean when Hongki told me you were extremely popular I didn't knew how much he was talking about" he smiled at me and proceeded with his food. I stood dumbfounded at his comment, 'THAT popular? How could he possibly know I was popular?' I frowned deep in thought, and Taemin after a few minutes, realized I was not touching my food. "Kibum are you ok?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as I saw him waving his hand in front of me.

"You already know I'm popular?" I asked only to receive a puzzled look back. "Yeah…you didn't want me to know?" I shocked my head lightly. "It's not that…wait…how did you find out anyway?" Taemin chuckled and that response only made me more curious to know the story behind. "Well after you left to go to the nursery, I headed to our second class, Spanish. I tried to follow your map, but I think halfway through the route I must have turned the wrong way and ended up in building A" He looked apologetic and I just laughed amusingly, imagining how lost and hopeless he must have felt. "After trying to go back to building C, with no success whatsoever, I bumped into this guy named Hongki. He must have seen the desperate look on my face, since He kindly took me back to building C. He even offered to walk me straight to my classroom. While we were walking to the building, he asked me if I was new and everything. Soon after we were engrossed in a little conversation and suddenly he asked if I already made any friends and I just nodded. He asked who, just to keep the conversation going I think, so I just blurted your name…" Taemin paused to shake his head in disbelief. "…The reaction that followed next was quite amusing, since he was drinking water….He nearly choke!!! You should have seen him kibummie! I had to pat the poor guy on the back" we both laughed at the thought, earning a few glances from the people on the nearby tables, but ignore them anyway.

"ahh so this Hongki guy told you about me then" I couldn't help but hate that boy a little. I wanted to be the one to tell Taemin about my popularity, not some boy he just met. Well that's a little clichéd I guess since I just met him today too, but there was something special about Taemin and me that justified anything.

"Yep. At first I was a bit taken a back as to why he didn't believe me that we were friends. He said I must have mistaken you for someone else" He chuckled a little when he saw me scowl at the comment. 'Confuse me with someone else…HA! Like that would happen'.

"After finally convincing him that in fact it was the same KIBUM we both knew, he just stared at me in awe, telling me how lucky I was. He then proceeded to tell me that you where by far one of the four most popular boys in school. He told me how ridiculously wealthy you were, and how your family owned almost all of the fast food chains in the country. Ah! He also mentioned how jealous he was of me, being so close to you in so little time, since you weren't the type to be exactly 'friendly' with just anyone." I focused my attention at the food in front of me. I couldn't face Taemin, knowing how much he already knew about me. I hated to be feared. I hated to be looked at in daily basis. I hated how everybody forgets you're a human, and only focus on your mistakes…I just simply hate this life. I didn't want Taemin to be unhappy by forcing him to be my friend. I wouldn't bare that.

"He then asked me if I wasn't intimidated by you. He said everyone is really afraid to approach you since you give this cold, tough vibe. Nobody knows how to approach you, too intimidated by your very presence. I thought about it and it's true, when I saw you at the bus this morning, I was really afraid to even ask you to let me sit with you." I sighed, waiting for the part were he says 'key it's better if we're not friends anymore. I can't stand the pressure of being watched 24/7' or something like that.

"I just laughed at his comments though. I told him you were one of the warmest, friendliest person I've ever met and once you get to know the real Kibum it's all good" I waited…patiently for the 'let's not be friends anymore' part, but I suddenly realized it was not coming. He started commenting about the Spanish teacher who made him read in front of the class just to make him suffer. As he continued talking, I stared astonished as it slowly sunk in my system that maybe Taemin didn't care about my popularity or looks, and just saw me as 'normal kid', but I had to ask.

"Taemin" I interrupted, startling him with my seriousness. "…you don't care about me being popular? Having everyone gawk and stare at me and anyone who is with me? Having everyone too scared to even have he guts to strike up a conversation? To…be my friend?" I could tell Taemin saw how my voice broke a little at the last part. He stood up and out of nowhere, a pair of warm arms embraced me. He let go a few minutes later and sat back. "I don't like you because of your money, or your looks, or your popularity…I like you because of who you are, and I want to be your friend and prove everyone that you're as amazing on the outside as the inside as well". I smiled, more grateful than I've ever felt before. I nodded, and kept quite. Sometimes actions speak louder than words…waaay louder..

We drop the subject happily and started chatting about the teachers, how they were born in hell and try to lure us into the dark side every chance they got. My cellphone started ringing all of a sudden and I excused myself, seeing it was my mother calling me. A few minutes later I came back, pissed that my so called 'mother' was invited to the open ceremony of this luxurious spa…in London, leaving me alone as always. I loved my mother to death; I just wished I could see her often since it was only the two of us, dad dead long ago. Weirdly, I found Taemin staring curiously over the railing, to the first floor.

"What are you looking at Taeminnie?" I stood beside him, trying to find what could possibly have caught his attention. "mmm I just wanted to know why everyone is making a fuss about the two boys who just came in" he said blinking innocently while tilting his head, still looking at the first floor. "Which two boys?" I was getting curious. I don't remember there were any popular guys in lunch 1, but again I haven't even checked all the people in the B section yet. " ahh let me see…them" he simply said, pointing at the two older boys sitting in a table chatting, oblivious to the squealing girls sitting at the nearer tables, and the boys secretly drooling at them from afar. I hissed and grabbed Taemin's hand, dragging him away from the railing, back to the table. Taemin tilted his head, looking closely at my now, flushed face. "Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever or something?" I couldn't pay attention to him right now, I was shocked as the image of Jinki and the other boy kept running over and over in my head. 'Why?? Why did he have to be in the same section AND in the same lunch break as me!!' I whined, still embarrassed by my behavior at the nursery earlier. I tend to loose my senses when it comes to pain.

I saw Taemin's concerned face as I started chewing my bottom lip, stealing glances at the railing now and then. "They didn't see us staring did they?" I asked anxiously as he hurriedly replied a simple 'no'.

"Do you know those two?" I sighed and proceeded to tell Taemin the whole thing. At the end he was rolling on the floor laughing. He was holding his stomach as a few tears escaped his eyes. I hushed him, telling him to be quite. I would die if I had to come face to face with Jinki's unreadable expression again.

"yah! It's not funny!!" I pouted when I saw he just laughed harder but quieted down soon after. "So he's popular enough to have Kim Kibum weak on his knees for him" he said, more like a fact than a question.

"Of course not! I'm just embarrassed he had to see…and hear…me moaning pain" I said while looking at the railing, trying to see if he was already gone. "oh! By the way…who was the boy that was with him?" I could have sworn I saw a spark in Taemin's eyes when he mentioned the taller boy, with long brown hair and charismatic smile, but it was probably my imagination. "mmm I don't know. I've truly never met Jinki before, only heard from him through other people's comments, but guessing from his physic and the way they treat each other I think that's Minho" I was about to say more while I glanced subconsciously at the clock on the wall, seeing that we only have 15 minutes before the extracurricular classes…wait. "oh fuck!" I cursed as I stood up at once.

"What's wrong kibum?" I grabbed my bag as I motioned him to take his and follow me. "I forgot we haven't subscribed to any extracurricular classes yet…Let's hope we can still make it in the good ones" we rushed through the stairs, hurriedly crossing the cafeteria. I tried to push the thought that Jinki could be staring at me, as girls began to squeal about how cute I looked with my face flushed. Boys drooling over my sweaty figure from afar. I ignore them and just exited the cafeteria, panting slightly. 'Man the cafeteria is really big' I thought as Taemin stood beside me, catching his breath.

"Come on! We only have 10 minutes" we ran through the hallways, up to the main building, arriving in record time to the administration area. The secretary took in our appearance but remained quite. "Hi we're Juniors from section C and we forgot to subscribe our extracurricular classes" she was about to scold us but I flashed her a crooked smile making her gasp. 'hahaha young secretaries are so gullible' I thought with joy as she nodded awkwardly and handed the list of still available classes.

We took a seat at the leather sofas back on the reception area. I saw Taemin glancing nervously at his watch. The extracurricular classes started 10 minutes ago. "Is it ok if we are late to these classes?"

"Yeah don't worry, we'll ask the secretary to give us some passes" I answered, not taking my eyes from the list. I guess he relaxed a little, as he moved closer to take a look at the list too. There were all types of classes; Arts, Chemistry, Math, French, Drama, Chorus, EVERYTHING. It wasn't a 3 page list for nothing. "What are your hobbies Taemin?" I saw him pondering for a while. I already had my choices, Dancing and Photography. Each year I took the same classes, so I already knew what those were about.

"Well I like chemistry…it's there chemistry in there?" I watched in disbelief as he muttered his first option, but nodded nonetheless as I wrote Advanced Chemistry on a piece of paper. He grabbed the list and started eyeing all the endless classes available. Suddenly his eyes lit up as he pointed a class listed on the G's. My eyes bulged when I saw what class he was referring to.

"Ga..ga..gardening!?" I gawked as he bobbed his head with a big smile, but soon a sad expression took place as he saw my gawking. "I know it sounds ridiculous and everything…but I love flowers" he bowed his head in shame. I sighed and put my hands on his shoulders, making him look at me.

"There's nothing wrong with liking flowers. I'm sorry if I hurt your feeling with my reaction, it's just that…you don't seem the type to be in gardening class" he crooked his head, not understanding what I meant with that. "mmm your gonna see what I mean when you have your first class" I patted his head and smiled.

"Kibummie which classes did you choose?" we were going back to the administration now, to officially subscribe.

"Dance and Photography" We handed the list back to the secretary and proceeded to fill the application forms. We got our passes and finally headed to the last building on the school grounds, which was specifically designed for extracurricular classes. "You like photography?" I smiled as I reached for my backpack and pulled out a Nikon D700, my baby. His eyes widened as he saw the expensive camera. "It's my passion" I simply stated placing the camera carefully in Taemin's hands. He cradled it with extreme care as he was examining it. He looked like a little boy that has found a new exciting toy to look at. "This must cost a fortune…" I heard him muttered. We were walking slowly now, so he could look at the camera without fear of dropping it. "mmm I guess…it was a birthday present".

We both stood silent for a while. I realized the weather was suddenly warm so I unbuttoned my waistcoat, hearing some girls shriek and giggle from afar. I rolled my long sleeves up to my elbows. 'So much for the cold weather…' I thought and I notice Taemin had already taken his sweater off, wearing a simple t-shirt under it. "I got a pair of socks for my birthday last year…with my name embroidered" The statement took me by surprise, and when my brain processed the information a few minutes later, an urge to laugh overwhelmed me. Just imagining Taemin receiving the embroidered socks with a horrified expression on his face was enough to crack me up. I bit my lip though, I didn't want him to think I was making fun of him, but suddenly he started laughing and I couldn't hold it so I joined soon afterwards. He returned the camera and I place it back safely on my bag.

"Here we are" I said as we arrived to the 6 story building, big enough to accommodate a public school…and still have plenty of spare space. "ok you see the reception over there" I asked pointing the big reception in the center of the main floor. "If you want to book a classroom to study or to do some project, you go there. It's like the library, when you borrow a book, but instead of books you borrow rooms." A small "o" formed on his lips as we took the elevator up to the third floor.

Once the elevator arrived, Taemin walked out. "Let me see if I remember…first I take the left hallway, then I turn left again and it's the second door…on the right?" I clapped my hands as he remembered the instructions I gave him in the elevator. "Good!! I'm not gonna see you after cus gardening last a little bit longer than other classes, so…until tomorrow then" he pouted and waved a little. I step back in the elevator pressing the second floor. "Don't talk to strangers" I managed to joke as the doors closed. I could hear a faint laughter coming from outside.

I knew my way already, so in no time I was standing outside of the dance studio. I opened the doors, soon greeted by cheers and a series of hello's. I knew almost everyone in the class. It's really rare that people subscribe to this class, so we were a small group, making the work more comfortable. There were two or three guys that I never seen before, and by the way they were stumbling nervously on their feet, eyes fixated on me, I could guess they never thought I would be in this class. I hate new people. It's difficult for me to try to get to know someone. I don't know…it's just that no one seems…"interesting" enough to get to know. Well, except Taemin of course, but that's a huge exception.

"Hey Key! What's up?" A big muscular guy greeted me as he was putting on his sneakers. "Hey Chansung… same old thing you know" I smiled as I reached a hand to help him up. He laughed patting my back as a greeting. I greeted the rest of the crew as the rest of them presented me the "new additions". "This is Minam, Jo kwon, and Chanming. They're gonna audition today to became part of the dance team" I nodded and a muffled hi came from the 3 nervous guys, eyeing me. "Come on guys, he's not gonna bite you" Junho, another member of the crew, said as he nudged the guys with his elbow. He wiggled his eyebrow, making the 3 boys blush scarlett. "yah junho stop messing around dude, your gonna scare them" Junsu, another member, said while hitting him in the head. Junho pouted but backed off eventually.

We took a sit at the opposite wall, leaving enough space for the 3 guys to dance. All of the crew members where already wearing sweatpants, t-shirts, wife beaters, but since I came late I was still in my uniform. The music started and 3 bodies started moving in the center. The first one, Minam, was very stiff. I don't know if it was nervousness or he simply wasn't that good. The second one, Jo Kwon was really good at dancing. When I saw the smooth back turn he did at the beginning, I instantly knew he was in. The last one, Jiwoon, was good but not good enough to enter though. Maybe next year if he practices a lot.

The music ended, leaving the 3 boys sweating like pigs and taking big breaths. All the members clapped, saying they did a good job. After that, the 3 boys left so we could discuss our opinions and come out with the results.

A few minutes later the bell rang, and luckily we came to a decision on time. We call the 3 boys back in and congratulated them for making a terrific job, but we were gonna stick with Jo kwon for now. Seeing the disappointed look on the other 2, we invited them to try next year, and to stop by on practices. I said my goodbyes and headed to my next class, Photography. This class was different for me. I wasn't as friendly as I was in this class…maybe because I didn't know many people like in dance class, and I didn't bother to socialize either. I took the elevator once again, up to the fifth floor now and, again, I already knew the route like the back of my hand so 5 minutes later I was at the photography studio.

The classroom was very big, with four big windows on the left, making everything look so bright and spacious. The class was almost filled. I took a seat at my usual spot by the window, not caring to talk to anyone. A few people I already knew came up to talk to me, but the majority of the class was people I've never seen before. Since Juniors and Seniors mingle in this type of classes, it wasn't strange for me not to know most of them. I could feel the stares boring into my back but I ignore all of this as I took out my camera and started looking at the pictures in the memory, erasing some and changing the quality of others. A few minutes later Ms. Goon came in, and everyone settle down.

"Hello everyone! Good to see some new faces. It's nice to see that people are getting more and more interested in the wonderful and exciting world that is Photography. Just to know that in a photograph you can capture-" the door suddenly opened as Ms. Goon was going to start her hour long speech. A girl and a boy came in, quickly apologizing as they gave Ms. Goon their late passes. A few minutes later the door opened again, getting an exasperated sigh from Ms. Goon as she was interrupted was again. A series of gasps and shrieks came after.

I watched horrified as Jinki gave his late pass and took a seat at the last desk by the window. I groaned hitting my head repeatedly with my fist.

I HATE first days of school.

wow!! first chapter!!! xD hope you liked it! review ~.~.....