[PG-13] Caught in Between (17/25)

[airplanewishes]

Title: Caught in Between
Characters: Kyuhyun/Taeyeon/Eunhyuk, Donghae/Jessica, Sungmin/Sunny, Siwon/Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy, Drama

“Tiffany,” Siwon called, jogging towards her, Jessica, Yuri and Yoona.

Tiffany turned around with a smile, but when she saw it was him her smile faltered. “Hey,” she said evenly.

“Hi Siwon,” Jessica greeted as well, smiling.

“Hi Jessica, Yoona, Yuri,” Siwon said. Yoona merely rolled her eyes. He turned to Tiffany. “I’ve been calling you.”

“Yeah,” Tiffany said. “Sorry. I’ve been busy. Was there something you needed?” Jessica, even Yoona and Yuri, looked at her in surprise. It was obvious that she was pushing him away.

“I was hoping to talk,” he said quietly. Tiffany seemed indifferent ever since he came over her house the other day. “Do you think we can hang out at lunch today?”

Tiffany hesitated. Why was he doing this? He’d made it clear that he didn’t like her. Why was he making things so difficult? “I’m actually having lunch with them,” she vaguely answered, gesturing towards the girls.

“Right,” he said, nodding. “Of course. I’ll see you around then.” He turned to go.

Jessica elbowed Tiffany. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

“I thought you liked him,” Yuri said thoughtfully.

“I thought you said he was the one avoiding you,” Yoona clarified.

“It’s better this way,” Tiffany said, watching Siwon walk away.

“What are you talking about?” Jessica said, annoyed. “The guy you’re in love with wants to hang out with you and you say no?”

“Drama drama drama,” Yoona said, shaking her head.

Tiffany merely shrugged and walked away. Jessica fought the urge to pull Tiffany’s hair. She can be really stupid sometimes.

~ * ~

Kyuhyun watched as Taeyeon sat down by herself in the cafeteria during lunch break. Eunhyuk, Sungmin and Sunny, who were at another table, had each attempted to join her but had all been rebuffed. He sighed. Not only did he ruin his relationship with her, but he also ruined her relationship with her sister and best friends.

“Hey,” Sooyoung said, slipping onto the seat beside him.

“Sooyoung, what are you doing here?” Kyuhyun said through gritted teeth.

“I would’ve thought you’d have stopped asking me that by now after what happened the other night,” Sooyoung said flirtatiously, playing with his hair.

“Nothing happened,” Kyuhyun said, pushing her hand away.

“Something almost did,” Sooyoung said pointedly, smiling triumphantly at him. “I don’t think that’s nothing.”

“And it was a mistake,” he angrily said, glaring at her. “I really don’t know why you won’t leave me alone. We’ve broken up a long time ago.”

“I thought I’ve made it clear,” she reminded him. “I want you back.”

“You were the one who kept pushing me to Taeyeon,” he then reminded her.

She shook her head. “That was a mistake. I’m sorry.” She leaned closer to him. “I want to be with you.”

“No,” he spat. “The answer will always be no.”

“Well,” Sooyoung said, whispering to his ear. “If I can’t have you, at least I have the consolation of knowing that Taeyeon won’t have you.” She met the eye of someone seated a couple of tables away, smiling.

Kyuhyun followed her line of sight and saw Taeyeon, watching them, a mixture of disgust and hurt on her face. He pushed Sooyoung away from him. “Will you leave already?” he growled.

Sooyoung smiled at him, stood up and walked away. When Kyuhyun turned to look at Taeyeon again, she was gone. He sighed and buried his face in his hands.

~ * ~

“Sooyoung’s really a b****, isn’t she?” Sunny suddenly said.

“Sunny bunny!” Sungmin scolded, looking flabbergasted. Even Eunhyuk was shocked to hear Sunny talk that way.

“She really is!” Sunny insisted, looking annoyed. She saw the whole exchange between Kyuhyun and Sooyoung and how Sooyoung successfully made Taeyeon jealous. “She’s making things worse! And Kyuhyun! Why doesn’t he stay away from her?”

“He probably is staying away,” Eunhyuk said. “The problem is Sooyoung keeps on clinging to him.”

“Why would she do that?” Sunny asked, glancing over at the table Taeyeon was previously occupying.

“Because she’s in love with him,” Sungmin answered her.

“What?” Sunny gasped. “Sooyoung has a heart?”

Sungmin chuckled. “She really did fall in love with him. But he didn’t. After they broke up, Kyuhyun suddenly changed. Drastically. He became this totally different person from whom we once new.”

“Sooyoung changed drastically, too,” Eunhyuk added, smirking.

“Do you know why he changed?” Sunny inquired, ignoring the bit about Sooyoung. She knew the basic story, but she was curious about the details.

Sungmin glanced at Eunhyuk. He never told Eunhyuk that he kept contact with Kyuhyun. “I do, actually,” Sungmin said. Eunhyuk looked at him. “We talked,” he explained. “He said he was tired and that he wanted to lay low.”

“So he swore girls off?” Sunny asked.

“Something like that,” Sungmin went on. “He focused on his grades. That was it.”

“If there’s one thing that I’m sure Taeyeon’s not mad about, it’s Kyuhyun helping out with gran,” Sunny then said after being quiet. She smiled. “I still can’t believe his family owns Cho Ji Min center. I can’t believe you guys never told us.”

“It was a favor,” Eunhyuk said with a shrug.

“I wonder how Taeyeon met Kyuhyun,” Sungmin suddenly mused.

“They met at the library,” Sunny filled them in. “He helped her with her math homework. And then they met again at a party, Yoona’s, I think.”

Eunhyuk sighed. “I was there the day they met,” he suddenly shared. “When you think about it, I could’ve put a stop to all of this. If I had told her about him then, she wouldn’t get hurt.”

“Eunhyuk, you can’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault,” Sunny said.

“Sunny’s right. It really isn’t,” Sungmin agreed, smiling at Sunny. “You’re so smart, Sunny bunny.”

“It’s because you’re so smart,” Sunny responded, grinning back at him.

Eunhyuk looked at both of them in disbelief. “You two really can’t help it, can you?”

~ * ~

“You’re all alone again,” Sooyoung said, taking a seat beside Kibum.

“Oh hey Sooyoung,” Kibum said. “Yoona’s coming, actually.”

“Yoona Yoona Yoona,” Sooyoung dismissed. “Why’d you come back for her?” Kibum opened his mouth to answer, but she interrupted him. “Please don’t tell me it’s because you love her.”

“But that’s exactly why I came back,” Kibum said. “I do love her.”

“Love is overrated,” Sooyoung stated boredly. “Anyway,” she went on, wrapping an arm around his, “what are you doing tonight? I was thinking you could come over and we could do some drinking.”

“Sooyoung—,” Kibum began.

“You’re just unbelievable!!!” Yoona screamed, rushing over to their table. Everyone in the cafeteria watched as Yoona roughly pulled Sooyoung away from Kibum. Jessica and Tiffany tried to stop her to no avail. Yuri merely watched in horror.

“Yoona,” Kibum said, trying to calm her down.

“Stay away from Kibum,” Yoona loudly told Sooyoung, pointing at her face.

Sooyoung, instead of being disconcerted, chuckled. “Afraid of a little competition?” she asked her, smirking.

“Sooyoung,” Tiffany chided, looking appalled. “Kibum is Yoona’s boyfriend.”

“The key term being boyfriend,” Sooyoung responded. “They’re not married.”

“Right,” Yoona said, smiling sarcastically at Sooyoung. “I suppose that’s the reason why you and Hankyung are messing around behind Sica’s back.” Tiffany covered her mouth and immediately looked at Jessica.

Jessica, who was holding onto Yoona’s other arm in case she tried to hit Sooyoung, dropped it and stared at Yoona. “What did you say?” she asked.

“Hankyung’s been cheating on you with Sooyoung,” Yoona repeated.

The moment Yoona repeated it, Jessica looked at Sooyoung. Then she looked to her left, where Hankyung had stood up when he heard what Yoona said. Jessica knew at once that it was true. The looks on Hankyung’s and Sooyoung’s faces said it all.

“Sica, don’t listen to her,” Sooyoung tried to cover up.

“So that’s why Hankyung was at your house,” Yuri then said, looking at Sooyoung disappointedly. “How could you do this?”

Tiffany put an arm around Jessica, but she pushed her away. “Sica,” Tiffany gently said.

“I have to go,” was all Jessica said, turning to leave.

Hankyung went after her. “Sica!” He grabbed her arm.

Jessica turned around and slapped him hard on the face, the sound echoing throughout the cafeteria. “Stay away from me,” she darkly told him.

“Guys, let’s talk about this,” Sooyoung calmly said.

Yoona gave Sooyoung a smirk. “There’s nothing to talk about, Sooyoung. Now everyone knows what kind of person you are,” she said before leaving the cafeteria with Kibum.

Sooyoung looked at Tiffany and Yuri, who didn’t even look at her and just followed after Yoona.

~ * ~

Taeyeon was hanging out by herself in one of the empty classrooms near the cafeteria. She hated how she let herself be affected by what she had just witnessed. Sooyoung placing her hands on Kyuhyun… She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to forget. Even though it didn’t seem like Kyuhyun enjoyed it, it still upset her, knowing that they were once a couple. And who knows what kind of couple they were. She shuddered.

This is why she didn’t want to get into relationships. She should’ve thought about it very carefully before deciding to go out with him. She should have weighed the pros and cons, that way she wouldn’t be hurt like she was now. She suddenly hoped that Heechul had been stricter. She sighed.

It was so hard seeing him in school everyday and not being able to talk to him. She knew she could just talk to him and make both of their lives easier, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. After thinking about everything that he told her, it was amazing that he managed to tell her everything. It probably wasn’t easy unloading his dark past to someone new in his life. She sighed, thinking that maybe she should give him a break. He has changed after all. It didn’t seem like he’s going to go back to his old ways.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Jessica came rushing in, crying. She went to the far end of the room and slumped down on a chair and continued sobbing. Taeyeon sat there for a couple of seconds, completely at a loss as to what she should do. After deciding to stop thinking too much, she stood up, walked over and handed her a handkerchief.

Jessica saw the handkerchief, startled, and then looked up at her.

“It’s clean,” Taeyeon promised, taking a seat beside her.

“Thanks,” Jessica said, taking it and dabbing her eyes.

“Are you alright?” Taeyeon asked carefully. She looked really upset about something.

“Weren’t you in the cafeteria?” Jessica asked, looking at her. Taeyeon shook her head. “I’m sure you’ll find out anyway,” she went on with a sigh. “I just broke up with Hankyung.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Taeyeon said. Although she really thought that she was better off without him. Hankyung was a bully.

“Yeah,” Jessica said, starting to tear up again. “He cheated on me.”

“What?!” Taeyeon responded in shock, staring at her.

Jessica smiled a little at her reaction. “With Sooyoung.”

Taeyeon shook her head in disbelief. “That girl is really something.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” Jessica said, dabbing at her eyes again. “I feel so stupid.”

Taeyeon looked at Jessica and truly felt bad for her. No matter what pain Taeyeon was going through, she was sure that it was nothing compared to Jessica’s.

“Did you slap him?” Taeyeon mused.

“Hard,” Jessica confirmed with a smile.

“Good,” Taeyeon said with a satisfied nod.

“Did you slap Kyuhyun?” Jessica wanted to know after a pause.

“You’re really still friends,” Taeyeon said, shaking her head. One of the things Kyuhyun told her was that Jessica used to be his best friend.

Jessica shook her head. “Not like before.”

“But still close enough,” Taeyeon corrected. She sighed. “I did slap him.” She bit her lip. “But I felt bad about it. I mean I know it was hard telling me everything.”

“He really was wrong in keeping it from you,” Jessica told her. She watched as Taeyeon stared at the floor, looking sad. “He really likes you a lot, Taeyeon. I’ve never seen him be like he is with you before.”

Taeyeon looked at her and forced a smile. “I really don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Taeyeon, I know we’re not friends,” Jessica then said gently, “but I think you should give him another chance. Trust me when I say that you’re different from anyone I’ve ever seen him with. He’s never been serious with anyone before. Not until now. Also, if you give him another chance, he will finally stop calling me and asking me what he should do to get you back.”

“He’s been doing what?” Taeyeon replied, her smile becoming more genuine.

“He’s really going crazy, thinking of ways of what he should do, when he should say it, just to get you back,” Jessica shared earnestly.

“I don’t know why you’re helping me,” Taeyeon then said. “You don’t even like me.”

“I used to think that I didn’t like you,” Jessica interjected. “But that was because I didn’t know you then.”

“Donghae’s niceness is rubbing off on you, isn’t it?” Taeyeon teased.

Despite everything that had just happened, Jessica laughed.

~ * ~

“I can’t believe Sooyoung would do such a thing,” Tiffany said, still in shock as they walked down the hall. They were looking for Jessica.

“I could,” Yoona quipped.

“As much as I hate to admit it, me too,” Yuri agreed.

“Poor Sica,” Tiffany said, shaking her head. “I can’t believe Hankyung. He made her believe that he loved her.”

“He made us all believe,” Yuri said. She sighed when they looked in another classroom and it was empty. “I think we should just leave her alone for now.”

Tiffany agreed. She turned to Yoona and Kibum. “We’ll see you guys later.”

“Yeah,” Yoona said.

“So… are you alright?” Kibum asked her as soon as Yuri and Tiffany had gone.

“Fine,” Yoona answered. “I’m sorry about that. I just couldn’t help myself.”

“I thought it was sweet,” he told her, smiling.

“Sweet?” she repeated, looking at him.

“You’ve never fought for me before,” he said.

Yoona smiled shyly, looking at the floor before looking at him once more. “Well I didn’t want to lose you again.”

Kibum smiled then pulled her close, giving her a kiss on the lips.

“What was that for?” she asked, stunned.

“I just realized that I haven’t kissed you since I got back,” he said, giving her another kiss. “You’re not going to lose me again.”

~ * ~

Taeyeon stared at the ringing phone. She had been thinking that maybe Jessica was right. Maybe she should give him a chance. But, somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him. She knew that if she picked up the phone, it would be him on the other end. He always called her at the same time and kept at it for an hour or so.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” Heechul asked, standing in the doorway of her room with Sunny behind him.

Taeyeon looked at them then looked at the phone. She felt like she wanted to, but just couldn’t. Heechul walked in and answered the phone.

“Hello, who’s this?” Heechul asked. He glanced at her then said, “She’s busy right now.” He hung up and placed the cordless phone on its cradle. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he began, “Taeyeon, you’re going to have to talk to him sooner or later.”

“I can’t,” Taeyeon said, shaking her head. “Not yet.”

“He’s apologized dozens of times,” Sunny butted in.

Taeyeon looked sharply at her. “I don’t remember talking to you.”

“Hey, that’s enough,” Heechul sternly said. “You two are going to have to patch things up. I won’t have you two fighting over some guy.”

“We’re not fighting over a guy,” Sunny interjected. “Besides, Taeyeon’s just being stubborn.”

“Stop,” Heechul said, putting a hand up to stop Taeyeon from saying anything back. “Sunny go back to your room.” Sunny left in a huff. “Taeng,” Heechul said, turning back to her. “As much as I hate the guy for hurting you, he has apologized.”

“I don’t know why you’re going so easy on him,” Taeyeon grumbled.

Heechul smiled. “He has proved that he cares about you a lot. And I know you care about him a lot as well.”

“It doesn’t change things,” she said.

“It doesn’t,” he agreed. “Only you can do that.” He patted her cheek and stood up, leaving the room.

After a couple of seconds, the phone rang again. Slowly, Taeyeon picked it up and answered it.