airplanewishes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
airplanewishes) wrote2010-09-10 10:51 am
airplanewishes) wrote2010-09-10 10:51 am
[PG-13] Caught in Between (10/25)
Title: Caught in Between
Characters: Kyuhyun/Taeyeon/Eunhyuk, Donghae/Jessica, Sungmin/Sunny, Siwon/Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy, Drama
Tiffany was looking through some books at the old bookstore when suddenly someone covered her eyes.
“Guess who.”
She laughed. There was only one person who loved doing this, but she decided to play along, as always. “Uh… I give up,” she said.
“It’s me,” Siwon said, putting his hands down. He grinned.
“Oh hey!” Tiffany said, chuckling. Siwon was so cute. She loved how he was so nice, so sweet and funny. She really could be herself around him.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
She held up a tattered hardbound book. “I love this.”
“It’s a good book,” he agreed. “You should get it.”
It was a bit expensive. She made a face and returned it back on the shelf. “What are we doing today?” she asked excitedly.
“Donghae said that there’s a carnival that opened nearby,” Siwon began.
“I love carnivals!” Tiffany said enthusiastically, clapping her hands.
“Let’s go!” Siwon said with a big grin on his face.
“There’s my Sunny bunny!” Sungmin greeted happily. He sat down beside her and gave her nose a kiss. They were at the Kim residence.
“Sungminnie, you’re here!” Sunny greeted back cutely. “I made you Kimbap.” She showed the food that she had prepared for him, complete with chopsticks and milk.
Sungmin actually clapped like a little boy. “This is great!” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Sunny giggled then she saw Taeyeon and Eunhyuk staring at them. “What?”
“Who are you people?” Eunhyuk demanded.
Sunny and Sungmin merely laughed.
“No seriously,” Eunhyuk continued. “Who are you?”
“Funny,” Sunny said, making a face at him. She turned to Sungmin. “Do you like the Kimbap I made?”
“Yes, but not as much as I like you,” Sungmin responded.
“I think I prefer the days when you weren’t talking,” Taeyeon stated.
“No you don’t,” Sunny told her knowingly.
“Yeah,” Sungmin agreed. “Why else would you trick Sunny into going to my house?”
“Actually that wasn’t me. That was Eunhyuk.” Taeyeon then slapped Eunhyuk’s arm. “This is all your fault.”
All of them laughed at this.
“But really I’m happy you guys finally realized how stupid you both were being,” Taeyeon told them.
“Uh thanks?” Sungmin said.
“It was tiring having to cheer up Sunny all the time,” Taeyeon shared. “And having to cover up from Heechul oppa.” She turned to Sungmin. “Have you talked to him?”
“I have,” Sungmin said. “It’s all good.” He looked proud.
“Of course it’s all good,” Sunny confirmed, grinning at him. “You’re amazing!”
Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, while Taeyeon buried her face in her arms.
“I think I’m going to die early because of you two,” Eunhyuk remarked. “Please keep it to a minimum when you’re around me.”
“You’re just jealous,” Sunny said, sticking her tongue out at them.
Eunhyuk smirked. “You haven’t seen jealous. Sungmin was going crazy at the thought that you and Shindong might be going out.”
Taeyeon laughed. “Really crazy.”
Sunny smiled and looked at Sungmin. “Is that true?”
“I didn’t want to share you with anyone, Sunny bunny,” Sungmin said.
“Well there’s no one I would rather have but my Sungminnie,” Sunny responded.
“Ugh!” Taeyeon groaned. “Why is it that every conversation with you guys ends in aegyo?!”
“Sungmin and I are going to the carnival later,” Sunny said, ignoring her. “Do you guys want to come?”
“I can’t,” Eunhyuk said. “There’s this thing at Hankyung’s house. Yuri’s forcing me to go. You’re not coming?” he asked Sungmin.
“No, my Sunny comes first,” Sungmin said, shaking his head.
“A no would’ve sufficed,” Eunhyuk muttered.
“What about you?” Sunny asked her sister.
“No, I don’t want to be a third wheel, most especially not to you guys,” Taeyeon said fervently.
“Then ask Kyuhyun to go with you,” Sunny said. “I’m sure he won’t -- .”
“Who?” Eunhyuk and Sungmin chorused.
Taeyeon glared at Sunny. There was a reason she hadn’t told them about Kyuhyun. They always overreacted whenever she made friends with guys they didn’t know.
“Uh,” Sunny said, covering up her mistake with a laugh. “Jonghyun. I meant Jonghyun. He’s from our history class.”
“You did not say Jonghyun. Jonghyun’s a jock and she doesn’t like jocks,” Sungmin corrected. “You said -- .”
“I said Jonghyun,” Sunny cut him off sternly.
“I’m not going to the carnival,” Taeyeon announced. “Okay. I’ll just go and brush my teeth.” She stood up and rushed out of the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked Hankyung through the phone.
“Sorry, babe. I can’t go out with you today. I’m swamped,” Hankyung answered.
Expecting as much and not caring anymore, “Okay.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” Hankyung promised.
“Fine whatever,” Jessica said and hung up. She then dialed Tiffany’s number. She didn’t want to be stuck at home. “Hey, where are you? Want to go somewhere?” she asked.
Jessica could hear her hesitation. “I’m actually out with Siwon right now. We’re at the carnival.” She paused. “You should totally come and hang out with us.”
“No thanks. Bye,” Jessica said and ended the call.
Jessica then decided to just get out of the house. She knew where to go.
“You again,” Donghae said, smiling a little as he saw Jessica approach. “This is getting to be a habit of yours.”
“I know,” Jessica said apologetically, sitting down across from him. “I’m just bored.”
“And the library is the place to appease that?” Donghae teased.
“I just wanted to get out of the house,” Jessica told him. “Of course my boyfriend’s too busy with stuff to be with me.”
Donghae closed the book in front of him and put it in his bag. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. Then she remembered where Tiffany was. “Do you know that Tiffany and Siwon are out on a date right now?” She chuckled.
He smiled. “Those two are getting on pretty well. I’m shocked.”
“I’m not,” she said, shaking her head. “Siwon is exactly Tiffany’s type. She likes the geeky, dorky, gentlemanly types. Don’t tell him I said that.”
“Siwon’s had a crush on her for the longest time,” he told her. “Who would’ve thought they’d actually end up dating?”
“It’s because Fany’s really nice,” Jessica said with a smile. “She doesn’t really care about image. When she likes a person, she likes them. It doesn’t matter if they’re kingka-queenka or not.” She chuckled. “We’ve been friends since we were seven. I don’t think she’d be friends with us if we hadn’t grown up together. She’d probably hate us.”
“Maybe the others,” Donghae replied. “But not you.” Despite the initial coldness, Jessica was a very warm and sweet person. He really enjoyed her company.
She smiled sadly at him. “You don’t really know what I’m like.” She sighed then realized that she talked too much again. “Sorry, I babbled again. You should go back to studying.” She stood up.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll crash Tiffany and Siwon’s date.” She laughed.
“What do you say we crash together?” Donghae suggested, standing up.
“Sounds like fun,” Jessica said, smiling.
“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun asked Taeyeon, who jumped. “You look worried.”
“I’m okay,” Taeyeon lied, smiling. She was nervous. Ever since their movie date, she wasn’t sure how to act around him. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t like what had happened. Him holding her hand made her happy, comfortable and giddy at the same time. “Where are we going anyway?”
“You’ll see,” Kyuhyun said.
As Kyuhyun drove, he couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Taeyeon was. He knew that this was about what happened, what he did. They’d never really talked about it. They never had the chance to since this would be the first time they talked and saw each other since then. He knew he had to do something to make her feel at ease.
“I think we need to talk,” he started.
“About what?” she asked worriedly, glancing at him then looking out of the window.
“I know you’re confused,” he gently began.
“How would you know?” she asked, looking at him in surprise. Then she frowned. “Are you confused, too?”
He looked at her. “No.”
For both of them, that was a declaration of his feelings in itself. Kyuhyun knew that Taeyeon understood what he meant.
Before he could say anything else, she said, “Let’s just… leave it at that for now.”
“Okay,” he said. “If that’s what you want.”
Soon enough, they arrived at their destination. As soon as they got out of the car, Taeyeon exclaimed in horror, “You brought me to the carnival?!”
“Yeah. I figured you liked these kinds of places,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said. But she didn’t move.
“Really, what’s wrong?” he insisted.
She hesitated. “I have to tell you something, but please don’t get mad.” He nodded. “I haven’t exactly told Sungmin and Eunhyuk about you. Not that I’m ashamed of our friendship or anything,” she said at once. “It’s just they tend to overreact.” They probably had reason to overreact now. She wondered if she was really falling for him.
“Ah… they’re Heechul hyung phase 2 and 3,” Kyuhyun said understandingly.
“Somewhat,” Taeyeon said, smiling sheepishly. “Sungmin and Sunny are here… supposedly.”
“We could just go somewhere else,” Kyuhyun said with a shrug.
“But you already bought tickets,” Taeyeon said, biting her lip. “Let’s just go and be careful.”
“Well, it’s a big place,” Kyuhyun said confidently. Although, he had a lot more reasons to keep her friends from seeing him with her.
~ * ~
“Uh, Hankyung’s house is right there,” Yuri said, pointing. They just rode by it.
“I’ve decided not to go to Hankyung’s house,” Eunhyuk told her, driving out of the village.
“Where are we going then?” Yuri asked interestedly.
“The carnival,” Eunhyuk answered. He glanced at her. “I hope that’s okay with you.”
“It’s fine, I suppose,” she answered with a shrug. But deep inside, she was very excited. It was the first time that Eunhyuk brought her anywhere out of his own accord.
Tiffany sat down on one of the benches and waited for Siwon, who left to get them some drinks. She was having a lot of fun. She’d been out with a lot of guys before, but no one had ever brought her to the carnival, or to the arcade or to a museum before. Siwon was very different. She was starting to like him a lot more than she expected.
“Here you go,” Siwon said, handing her a soda. He sat down beside her.
“Thanks,” Tiffany said, taking a sip.
“Are you having fun?” Siwon asked, looking at her.
“Yes,” Tiffany answered with a smile. “Are you?”
“I am,” he said, his face lighting up.
“No one’s brought me to the carnival before,” she shared.
He chuckled, feeling very pleased with himself.
“Have you ever thought of wearing contacts?” Tiffany asked, looking at him curiously.
“Uh, I hadn’t really thought about it,” Siwon said.
Tiffany then suddenly reached out and slowly removed his glass. She smiled. “You look good. I’m sure lots of girls would have a crush on you.”
“I don’t know,” he said uncomfortably, wearing his glasses again. “I like my glasses.”
She smiled. “I like your glasses, too.” She really thought he was cute as he was.
He didn’t know why, but he blushed. “Thanks,” he said. “So, uh, do you want to just walk around for a bit?”
“Sure,” she agreed, standing up.
“Let’s go,” he said, holding on to her hand.
Tiffany, hoping he wasn’t looking at her, smiled.
“We’re never going to find them,” Jessica asked, looking around. They had just arrived at the carnival and the place was packed with people.
“Let’s just enjoy the rides while we’re looking for them,” Donghae suggested. “How about that?” He pointed at a swinging ship.
“Uh,” Jessica hesitated.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” Donghae insisted, grabbing her hand and running over to the ride.
After the ride…
“So… did you have fun?” Jessica asked Donghae.
He responded with a gag, spilling out the contents of his stomach.
“I guess not,” Jessica said, fighting the urge to laugh.
“It would be nice if you did something to make me feel better,” he weakly said.
She looked at him and felt guilty. “I’ll get you water.”
As she was paying for bottled water at a hotdog stand, she saw Kyuhyun. Once paid, she decided to say hi to him.
“Jessica!” Kyuhyun said, very surprised to see her.
“Surprised?” Jessica asked, smirking a little. “Are you alone? Of course not,” she said. “Who are you with?”
“Uh I’m alone,” Kyuhyun lied.
“Hey,” Taeyeon said, returning from the washroom. She saw Jessica.
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Jessica said, glancing at Kyuhyun then shaking Taeyeon’s hand. “I’m Jessica.”
“Hi,” Taeyeon responded. She glanced at Kyuhyun. “Do you two know each other?”
Kyuhyun shook his head. “We just bumped into each other.”
“Okay,” Taeyeon said with a shrug. “I’ll just buy some candy.” She left them, feeling weird about the whole thing.
“So she doesn’t know you’re friends with us?” Jessica asked, amused.
“We’re not exactly friends anymore,” Kyuhyun responded.
“Gee thanks,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I suggest you stop lying and tell her already, Kyuhyun. You’ll never really be rid of us, you know, even if you don’t hang out with us anymore.”
“I’m not exactly lying,” he said defensively.
“Whatever,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re actually going out with her just because Sooyoung said so.”
Kyuhyun looked at her in surprise. “What did you say?”
“What, isn’t it true? Sooyoung told you to hang out with her that’s why you’re here right now,” Jessica stated.
“I’m not doing this because Sooyoung said so,” Kyuhyun declared.
“Fine,” Jessica said, looking at him curiously. Kyuhyun had never really lied to her before. “But let me give you a piece of advice as a frie – an old friend. Sooyoung’s planning something and you’d better beat her to her game by telling Taeyeon about yourself before she does.”
“Sica,” Kyuhyun said, suddenly affectionate. Out of the queenkas, he had been closest to her. “Would you mind not mentioning this to anyone?”
“Jessica!”
Jessica and Kyuhyun looked up. Donghae was approaching them.
Facing Kyuhyun, Jessica hurriedly said, “Let’s make a deal. I won’t tell anyone if you won’t tell a soul about you seeing me here with Donghae.” She paused as Kyuhyun gave her a smirk. “We’re not on a date,” she went on. “But if Hankyung hears about this…”
“Deal,” Kyuhyun said at once.
Jessica went over to Donghae and pulled him away before he could reach her and Kyuhyun.
“Sungminnie,” Sunny said, pointing to a stuffed toy. “I like that one.”
“Sunny bunny, you already have three,” Sungmin said, looking at the stuffed toys he was carrying.
“Oh right,” Sunny said.
“But I can win that for you if you want,” Sungmin said at once.
Sunny smiled.
“Sungmin! Sunny!”
“Eunhyuk,” Sungmin greeted in surprise. “What are you doing here?” He raised his eyebrows when he saw who was lagging behind him. “With Yuri.”
“Have you seen Taeyeon?” Eunhyuk asked them.
“Taeyeon’s at home,” Sunny told him, confused. “She said she wasn’t coming.”
“I called your house. Heechul hyung said some guy picked her up,” Eunhyuk relayed.
“Oh,” Sunny said, wondering if it was Kyuhyun. “So why are you guys here?”
“They might be here,” Eunhyuk answered, looking around.
“Right because they couldn’t have gone to the mall or to a restaurant or wherever,” Sunny responded in sarcasm.
“I’ll take my chances,” Eunhyuk said, leaving with Yuri.
“He’s really weird sometimes,” Sungmin commented.
“Sungmin,” Sunny said after a moment. He looked at her. “What if I did say Kyuhyun this morning?”
“What?” Sungmin asked. She hesitated. “It depends which Kyuhyun you’re referring to.”
“Are there a lot of Kyuhyuns in our school?” she asked.
“Just one,” he said. He looked intently at her. “Is Taeyeon going out with Kyuhyun?”
“So… you’re friends with Jessica?” Taeyeon casually asked Kyuhyun.
“Not really,” he said, which wasn’t exactly a lie. She nodded. “If I was, what would you do?” he suddenly asked, looking at her.
She thought about it. “Donghae said she wasn’t so bad.”
“Are they going out?” Kyuhyun asked curiously. He hadn’t been seeing Hankyung with Jessica lately. But maybe that was because he was so busy with Sooyoung. He smirked.
“I don’t think so,” Taeyeon answered thoughtfully. “Jessica has a boyfriend. But they’ve been hanging out a lot.” She shrugged.
“I have a question,” Kyuhyun said, changing the topic. Taeyeon looked at him. “Now that Sunny has a boyfriend, does that mean you can have a boyfriend?”
Taeyeon blushed and cleared her throat. “Uh, I don’t know. Why do you ask?” she said, looking away.
“Just curious,” Kyuhyun answered with a shrug. In his experience with girls, the reaction that Taeyeon just gave was usually a good sign.
Taeyeon was thinking about how the conversation suddenly turned awkward when she felt his hand reach for hers. Memories of what happened during the movie came back to her. She felt herself turning red. Looking down, she watched as he slowly and carefully entwined their fingers with each other. She nearly gasped as she realized how it felt so nice and so right holding hands with him. When she looked up at him, she saw that he was watching her.
“Do you want to go on the Ferris wheel?” he asked, his heart beating fast. He’d held other girls’ hands lots of times, but it had never felt like this. The first time was somewhat of a trial. This time, he would have to brave it out since they still have a lot of carnival rides to try out.
“Uh,” she stammered, her mind turning to a blob.
He smiled at her and led her to the Ferris wheel without waiting for her answer.
Taeyeon never knew how much fun carnivals could be. She’d been to carnivals before and she’d always loved it, but not as much as she loved it now. She and Kyuhyun rode everything and went everywhere hand-in-hand. She kept on thinking that maybe it was the holding hands part that made everything so enjoyable. This was even better than the first time. Kyuhyun never let go of her hand, except when they ate and except when they had to go to the restroom. It felt nice. She loved how her hand fit into his perfectly. She felt so comfortable and safe with him.
After the rides, they decided to take a break and just walk around for a while. As they were walking, Taeyeon spotted Sunny, standing outside the restrooms, three stuffed toys on the floor. Sunny saw them and hurriedly came over.
“What are you two doing here?” Sunny hissed, looking behind her, making sure that Sungmin hadn’t come out yet.
“Uh to have fun?” Taeyeon responded, smiling uncertainly.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Sunny said, her eyes traveling to their clasped hands. “You two have to leave now. Eunhyuk’s here looking for you.”
“He is?” Taeyeon asked, glancing at her surroundings.
“He’s suspects something, Taeng,” Sunny said, looking at Kyuhyun as well. “You should go home.”
Taeyeon and Kyuhyun both nodded.
“See you later,” Taeyeon said.
“Go,” Sunny said, pushing them away.
Without any delay, Kyuhyun and Taeyeon reached her house. They got out of the car and Kyuhyun walked her to the door.
“So… thanks,” Taeyeon said awkwardly. It was fun while it lasted. She now wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. She hated how things got awkward afterwards. She was pretty sure that it was her fault. She’d made it perfectly clear to him that she wasn’t ready for anything and yet she never protested when he held her hand.
“You’re welcome,” Kyuhyun said.
“I had fun,” Taeyeon added, “even though the whole night was weird.” Hiding from her friends wasn’t exactly what you would call the perfect night out.
“Me too,” Kyuhyun agreed.
They looked at each other for a moment, as if waiting for something.
“Uh, good night,” she then said.
“Good night,” he softly replied.
Taeyeon paused for a moment then turned to go inside.
“Taeyeon,” Kyuhyun called.
She faced him and opened her mouth to ask why, but he cut her off by pressing his lips against hers.
Taeyeon’s mind went blank. Gently and unhurriedly, Kyuhyun moved his lips against hers. As he did, Taeyeon felt her legs turn into goo that she grabbed onto his arm. Kyuhyun took that opportunity to slip an arm around her waist and bring her closer, his other hand cupping her face.
So this is what it felt like, Taeyeon couldn’t help but think. She could see stars and fireworks going off in her head. All of a sudden, she was so sensitive to everything, his arm tightening around her waist, his hand caressing her cheek, his lips on hers. She couldn’t help but clutch his arm tightly, feeling like she didn’t want to let go.
When Kyuhyun finally pulled away, Taeyeon was looking at him with surprise and confusion etched on her face. “Why did you do that?” she asked softly.
“What?” Kyuhyun asked, surprised and embarrassed. “You looked like you wanted me to kiss you.”
“When did I ever give you that impression?” Taeyeon denied, her cheeks turning red.
“You were awkward and pausing and everything,” he insisted.
“So you kissed me just because you thought I wanted you to?” she demanded, frowning.
“No, of course not,” he rebuffed. “I wanted to kiss you, too.”
Taeyeon opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again when what he said had sunk in.
Characters: Kyuhyun/Taeyeon/Eunhyuk, Donghae/Jessica, Sungmin/Sunny, Siwon/Tiffany
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Comedy, Drama
Tiffany was looking through some books at the old bookstore when suddenly someone covered her eyes.
“Guess who.”
She laughed. There was only one person who loved doing this, but she decided to play along, as always. “Uh… I give up,” she said.
“It’s me,” Siwon said, putting his hands down. He grinned.
“Oh hey!” Tiffany said, chuckling. Siwon was so cute. She loved how he was so nice, so sweet and funny. She really could be herself around him.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
She held up a tattered hardbound book. “I love this.”
“It’s a good book,” he agreed. “You should get it.”
It was a bit expensive. She made a face and returned it back on the shelf. “What are we doing today?” she asked excitedly.
“Donghae said that there’s a carnival that opened nearby,” Siwon began.
“I love carnivals!” Tiffany said enthusiastically, clapping her hands.
“Let’s go!” Siwon said with a big grin on his face.
~ * ~
“There’s my Sunny bunny!” Sungmin greeted happily. He sat down beside her and gave her nose a kiss. They were at the Kim residence.
“Sungminnie, you’re here!” Sunny greeted back cutely. “I made you Kimbap.” She showed the food that she had prepared for him, complete with chopsticks and milk.
Sungmin actually clapped like a little boy. “This is great!” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Sunny giggled then she saw Taeyeon and Eunhyuk staring at them. “What?”
“Who are you people?” Eunhyuk demanded.
Sunny and Sungmin merely laughed.
“No seriously,” Eunhyuk continued. “Who are you?”
“Funny,” Sunny said, making a face at him. She turned to Sungmin. “Do you like the Kimbap I made?”
“Yes, but not as much as I like you,” Sungmin responded.
“I think I prefer the days when you weren’t talking,” Taeyeon stated.
“No you don’t,” Sunny told her knowingly.
“Yeah,” Sungmin agreed. “Why else would you trick Sunny into going to my house?”
“Actually that wasn’t me. That was Eunhyuk.” Taeyeon then slapped Eunhyuk’s arm. “This is all your fault.”
All of them laughed at this.
“But really I’m happy you guys finally realized how stupid you both were being,” Taeyeon told them.
“Uh thanks?” Sungmin said.
“It was tiring having to cheer up Sunny all the time,” Taeyeon shared. “And having to cover up from Heechul oppa.” She turned to Sungmin. “Have you talked to him?”
“I have,” Sungmin said. “It’s all good.” He looked proud.
“Of course it’s all good,” Sunny confirmed, grinning at him. “You’re amazing!”
Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, while Taeyeon buried her face in her arms.
“I think I’m going to die early because of you two,” Eunhyuk remarked. “Please keep it to a minimum when you’re around me.”
“You’re just jealous,” Sunny said, sticking her tongue out at them.
Eunhyuk smirked. “You haven’t seen jealous. Sungmin was going crazy at the thought that you and Shindong might be going out.”
Taeyeon laughed. “Really crazy.”
Sunny smiled and looked at Sungmin. “Is that true?”
“I didn’t want to share you with anyone, Sunny bunny,” Sungmin said.
“Well there’s no one I would rather have but my Sungminnie,” Sunny responded.
“Ugh!” Taeyeon groaned. “Why is it that every conversation with you guys ends in aegyo?!”
“Sungmin and I are going to the carnival later,” Sunny said, ignoring her. “Do you guys want to come?”
“I can’t,” Eunhyuk said. “There’s this thing at Hankyung’s house. Yuri’s forcing me to go. You’re not coming?” he asked Sungmin.
“No, my Sunny comes first,” Sungmin said, shaking his head.
“A no would’ve sufficed,” Eunhyuk muttered.
“What about you?” Sunny asked her sister.
“No, I don’t want to be a third wheel, most especially not to you guys,” Taeyeon said fervently.
“Then ask Kyuhyun to go with you,” Sunny said. “I’m sure he won’t -- .”
“Who?” Eunhyuk and Sungmin chorused.
Taeyeon glared at Sunny. There was a reason she hadn’t told them about Kyuhyun. They always overreacted whenever she made friends with guys they didn’t know.
“Uh,” Sunny said, covering up her mistake with a laugh. “Jonghyun. I meant Jonghyun. He’s from our history class.”
“You did not say Jonghyun. Jonghyun’s a jock and she doesn’t like jocks,” Sungmin corrected. “You said -- .”
“I said Jonghyun,” Sunny cut him off sternly.
“I’m not going to the carnival,” Taeyeon announced. “Okay. I’ll just go and brush my teeth.” She stood up and rushed out of the kitchen.
~ * ~
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked Hankyung through the phone.
“Sorry, babe. I can’t go out with you today. I’m swamped,” Hankyung answered.
Expecting as much and not caring anymore, “Okay.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” Hankyung promised.
“Fine whatever,” Jessica said and hung up. She then dialed Tiffany’s number. She didn’t want to be stuck at home. “Hey, where are you? Want to go somewhere?” she asked.
Jessica could hear her hesitation. “I’m actually out with Siwon right now. We’re at the carnival.” She paused. “You should totally come and hang out with us.”
“No thanks. Bye,” Jessica said and ended the call.
Jessica then decided to just get out of the house. She knew where to go.
~ * ~
“You again,” Donghae said, smiling a little as he saw Jessica approach. “This is getting to be a habit of yours.”
“I know,” Jessica said apologetically, sitting down across from him. “I’m just bored.”
“And the library is the place to appease that?” Donghae teased.
“I just wanted to get out of the house,” Jessica told him. “Of course my boyfriend’s too busy with stuff to be with me.”
Donghae closed the book in front of him and put it in his bag. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. Then she remembered where Tiffany was. “Do you know that Tiffany and Siwon are out on a date right now?” She chuckled.
He smiled. “Those two are getting on pretty well. I’m shocked.”
“I’m not,” she said, shaking her head. “Siwon is exactly Tiffany’s type. She likes the geeky, dorky, gentlemanly types. Don’t tell him I said that.”
“Siwon’s had a crush on her for the longest time,” he told her. “Who would’ve thought they’d actually end up dating?”
“It’s because Fany’s really nice,” Jessica said with a smile. “She doesn’t really care about image. When she likes a person, she likes them. It doesn’t matter if they’re kingka-queenka or not.” She chuckled. “We’ve been friends since we were seven. I don’t think she’d be friends with us if we hadn’t grown up together. She’d probably hate us.”
“Maybe the others,” Donghae replied. “But not you.” Despite the initial coldness, Jessica was a very warm and sweet person. He really enjoyed her company.
She smiled sadly at him. “You don’t really know what I’m like.” She sighed then realized that she talked too much again. “Sorry, I babbled again. You should go back to studying.” She stood up.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll crash Tiffany and Siwon’s date.” She laughed.
“What do you say we crash together?” Donghae suggested, standing up.
“Sounds like fun,” Jessica said, smiling.
~ * ~
“Are you okay?” Kyuhyun asked Taeyeon, who jumped. “You look worried.”
“I’m okay,” Taeyeon lied, smiling. She was nervous. Ever since their movie date, she wasn’t sure how to act around him. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t like what had happened. Him holding her hand made her happy, comfortable and giddy at the same time. “Where are we going anyway?”
“You’ll see,” Kyuhyun said.
As Kyuhyun drove, he couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Taeyeon was. He knew that this was about what happened, what he did. They’d never really talked about it. They never had the chance to since this would be the first time they talked and saw each other since then. He knew he had to do something to make her feel at ease.
“I think we need to talk,” he started.
“About what?” she asked worriedly, glancing at him then looking out of the window.
“I know you’re confused,” he gently began.
“How would you know?” she asked, looking at him in surprise. Then she frowned. “Are you confused, too?”
He looked at her. “No.”
For both of them, that was a declaration of his feelings in itself. Kyuhyun knew that Taeyeon understood what he meant.
Before he could say anything else, she said, “Let’s just… leave it at that for now.”
“Okay,” he said. “If that’s what you want.”
Soon enough, they arrived at their destination. As soon as they got out of the car, Taeyeon exclaimed in horror, “You brought me to the carnival?!”
“Yeah. I figured you liked these kinds of places,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said. But she didn’t move.
“Really, what’s wrong?” he insisted.
She hesitated. “I have to tell you something, but please don’t get mad.” He nodded. “I haven’t exactly told Sungmin and Eunhyuk about you. Not that I’m ashamed of our friendship or anything,” she said at once. “It’s just they tend to overreact.” They probably had reason to overreact now. She wondered if she was really falling for him.
“Ah… they’re Heechul hyung phase 2 and 3,” Kyuhyun said understandingly.
“Somewhat,” Taeyeon said, smiling sheepishly. “Sungmin and Sunny are here… supposedly.”
“We could just go somewhere else,” Kyuhyun said with a shrug.
“But you already bought tickets,” Taeyeon said, biting her lip. “Let’s just go and be careful.”
“Well, it’s a big place,” Kyuhyun said confidently. Although, he had a lot more reasons to keep her friends from seeing him with her.
~ * ~
“Uh, Hankyung’s house is right there,” Yuri said, pointing. They just rode by it.
“I’ve decided not to go to Hankyung’s house,” Eunhyuk told her, driving out of the village.
“Where are we going then?” Yuri asked interestedly.
“The carnival,” Eunhyuk answered. He glanced at her. “I hope that’s okay with you.”
“It’s fine, I suppose,” she answered with a shrug. But deep inside, she was very excited. It was the first time that Eunhyuk brought her anywhere out of his own accord.
~ * ~
Tiffany sat down on one of the benches and waited for Siwon, who left to get them some drinks. She was having a lot of fun. She’d been out with a lot of guys before, but no one had ever brought her to the carnival, or to the arcade or to a museum before. Siwon was very different. She was starting to like him a lot more than she expected.
“Here you go,” Siwon said, handing her a soda. He sat down beside her.
“Thanks,” Tiffany said, taking a sip.
“Are you having fun?” Siwon asked, looking at her.
“Yes,” Tiffany answered with a smile. “Are you?”
“I am,” he said, his face lighting up.
“No one’s brought me to the carnival before,” she shared.
He chuckled, feeling very pleased with himself.
“Have you ever thought of wearing contacts?” Tiffany asked, looking at him curiously.
“Uh, I hadn’t really thought about it,” Siwon said.
Tiffany then suddenly reached out and slowly removed his glass. She smiled. “You look good. I’m sure lots of girls would have a crush on you.”
“I don’t know,” he said uncomfortably, wearing his glasses again. “I like my glasses.”
She smiled. “I like your glasses, too.” She really thought he was cute as he was.
He didn’t know why, but he blushed. “Thanks,” he said. “So, uh, do you want to just walk around for a bit?”
“Sure,” she agreed, standing up.
“Let’s go,” he said, holding on to her hand.
Tiffany, hoping he wasn’t looking at her, smiled.
~ * ~
“We’re never going to find them,” Jessica asked, looking around. They had just arrived at the carnival and the place was packed with people.
“Let’s just enjoy the rides while we’re looking for them,” Donghae suggested. “How about that?” He pointed at a swinging ship.
“Uh,” Jessica hesitated.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” Donghae insisted, grabbing her hand and running over to the ride.
After the ride…
“So… did you have fun?” Jessica asked Donghae.
He responded with a gag, spilling out the contents of his stomach.
“I guess not,” Jessica said, fighting the urge to laugh.
“It would be nice if you did something to make me feel better,” he weakly said.
She looked at him and felt guilty. “I’ll get you water.”
As she was paying for bottled water at a hotdog stand, she saw Kyuhyun. Once paid, she decided to say hi to him.
“Jessica!” Kyuhyun said, very surprised to see her.
“Surprised?” Jessica asked, smirking a little. “Are you alone? Of course not,” she said. “Who are you with?”
“Uh I’m alone,” Kyuhyun lied.
“Hey,” Taeyeon said, returning from the washroom. She saw Jessica.
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Jessica said, glancing at Kyuhyun then shaking Taeyeon’s hand. “I’m Jessica.”
“Hi,” Taeyeon responded. She glanced at Kyuhyun. “Do you two know each other?”
Kyuhyun shook his head. “We just bumped into each other.”
“Okay,” Taeyeon said with a shrug. “I’ll just buy some candy.” She left them, feeling weird about the whole thing.
“So she doesn’t know you’re friends with us?” Jessica asked, amused.
“We’re not exactly friends anymore,” Kyuhyun responded.
“Gee thanks,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “I suggest you stop lying and tell her already, Kyuhyun. You’ll never really be rid of us, you know, even if you don’t hang out with us anymore.”
“I’m not exactly lying,” he said defensively.
“Whatever,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re actually going out with her just because Sooyoung said so.”
Kyuhyun looked at her in surprise. “What did you say?”
“What, isn’t it true? Sooyoung told you to hang out with her that’s why you’re here right now,” Jessica stated.
“I’m not doing this because Sooyoung said so,” Kyuhyun declared.
“Fine,” Jessica said, looking at him curiously. Kyuhyun had never really lied to her before. “But let me give you a piece of advice as a frie – an old friend. Sooyoung’s planning something and you’d better beat her to her game by telling Taeyeon about yourself before she does.”
“Sica,” Kyuhyun said, suddenly affectionate. Out of the queenkas, he had been closest to her. “Would you mind not mentioning this to anyone?”
“Jessica!”
Jessica and Kyuhyun looked up. Donghae was approaching them.
Facing Kyuhyun, Jessica hurriedly said, “Let’s make a deal. I won’t tell anyone if you won’t tell a soul about you seeing me here with Donghae.” She paused as Kyuhyun gave her a smirk. “We’re not on a date,” she went on. “But if Hankyung hears about this…”
“Deal,” Kyuhyun said at once.
Jessica went over to Donghae and pulled him away before he could reach her and Kyuhyun.
~ * ~
“Sungminnie,” Sunny said, pointing to a stuffed toy. “I like that one.”
“Sunny bunny, you already have three,” Sungmin said, looking at the stuffed toys he was carrying.
“Oh right,” Sunny said.
“But I can win that for you if you want,” Sungmin said at once.
Sunny smiled.
“Sungmin! Sunny!”
“Eunhyuk,” Sungmin greeted in surprise. “What are you doing here?” He raised his eyebrows when he saw who was lagging behind him. “With Yuri.”
“Have you seen Taeyeon?” Eunhyuk asked them.
“Taeyeon’s at home,” Sunny told him, confused. “She said she wasn’t coming.”
“I called your house. Heechul hyung said some guy picked her up,” Eunhyuk relayed.
“Oh,” Sunny said, wondering if it was Kyuhyun. “So why are you guys here?”
“They might be here,” Eunhyuk answered, looking around.
“Right because they couldn’t have gone to the mall or to a restaurant or wherever,” Sunny responded in sarcasm.
“I’ll take my chances,” Eunhyuk said, leaving with Yuri.
“He’s really weird sometimes,” Sungmin commented.
“Sungmin,” Sunny said after a moment. He looked at her. “What if I did say Kyuhyun this morning?”
“What?” Sungmin asked. She hesitated. “It depends which Kyuhyun you’re referring to.”
“Are there a lot of Kyuhyuns in our school?” she asked.
“Just one,” he said. He looked intently at her. “Is Taeyeon going out with Kyuhyun?”
~ * ~
“So… you’re friends with Jessica?” Taeyeon casually asked Kyuhyun.
“Not really,” he said, which wasn’t exactly a lie. She nodded. “If I was, what would you do?” he suddenly asked, looking at her.
She thought about it. “Donghae said she wasn’t so bad.”
“Are they going out?” Kyuhyun asked curiously. He hadn’t been seeing Hankyung with Jessica lately. But maybe that was because he was so busy with Sooyoung. He smirked.
“I don’t think so,” Taeyeon answered thoughtfully. “Jessica has a boyfriend. But they’ve been hanging out a lot.” She shrugged.
“I have a question,” Kyuhyun said, changing the topic. Taeyeon looked at him. “Now that Sunny has a boyfriend, does that mean you can have a boyfriend?”
Taeyeon blushed and cleared her throat. “Uh, I don’t know. Why do you ask?” she said, looking away.
“Just curious,” Kyuhyun answered with a shrug. In his experience with girls, the reaction that Taeyeon just gave was usually a good sign.
Taeyeon was thinking about how the conversation suddenly turned awkward when she felt his hand reach for hers. Memories of what happened during the movie came back to her. She felt herself turning red. Looking down, she watched as he slowly and carefully entwined their fingers with each other. She nearly gasped as she realized how it felt so nice and so right holding hands with him. When she looked up at him, she saw that he was watching her.
“Do you want to go on the Ferris wheel?” he asked, his heart beating fast. He’d held other girls’ hands lots of times, but it had never felt like this. The first time was somewhat of a trial. This time, he would have to brave it out since they still have a lot of carnival rides to try out.
“Uh,” she stammered, her mind turning to a blob.
He smiled at her and led her to the Ferris wheel without waiting for her answer.
Taeyeon never knew how much fun carnivals could be. She’d been to carnivals before and she’d always loved it, but not as much as she loved it now. She and Kyuhyun rode everything and went everywhere hand-in-hand. She kept on thinking that maybe it was the holding hands part that made everything so enjoyable. This was even better than the first time. Kyuhyun never let go of her hand, except when they ate and except when they had to go to the restroom. It felt nice. She loved how her hand fit into his perfectly. She felt so comfortable and safe with him.
After the rides, they decided to take a break and just walk around for a while. As they were walking, Taeyeon spotted Sunny, standing outside the restrooms, three stuffed toys on the floor. Sunny saw them and hurriedly came over.
“What are you two doing here?” Sunny hissed, looking behind her, making sure that Sungmin hadn’t come out yet.
“Uh to have fun?” Taeyeon responded, smiling uncertainly.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Sunny said, her eyes traveling to their clasped hands. “You two have to leave now. Eunhyuk’s here looking for you.”
“He is?” Taeyeon asked, glancing at her surroundings.
“He’s suspects something, Taeng,” Sunny said, looking at Kyuhyun as well. “You should go home.”
Taeyeon and Kyuhyun both nodded.
“See you later,” Taeyeon said.
“Go,” Sunny said, pushing them away.
~ * ~
Without any delay, Kyuhyun and Taeyeon reached her house. They got out of the car and Kyuhyun walked her to the door.
“So… thanks,” Taeyeon said awkwardly. It was fun while it lasted. She now wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. She hated how things got awkward afterwards. She was pretty sure that it was her fault. She’d made it perfectly clear to him that she wasn’t ready for anything and yet she never protested when he held her hand.
“You’re welcome,” Kyuhyun said.
“I had fun,” Taeyeon added, “even though the whole night was weird.” Hiding from her friends wasn’t exactly what you would call the perfect night out.
“Me too,” Kyuhyun agreed.
They looked at each other for a moment, as if waiting for something.
“Uh, good night,” she then said.
“Good night,” he softly replied.
Taeyeon paused for a moment then turned to go inside.
“Taeyeon,” Kyuhyun called.
She faced him and opened her mouth to ask why, but he cut her off by pressing his lips against hers.
Taeyeon’s mind went blank. Gently and unhurriedly, Kyuhyun moved his lips against hers. As he did, Taeyeon felt her legs turn into goo that she grabbed onto his arm. Kyuhyun took that opportunity to slip an arm around her waist and bring her closer, his other hand cupping her face.
So this is what it felt like, Taeyeon couldn’t help but think. She could see stars and fireworks going off in her head. All of a sudden, she was so sensitive to everything, his arm tightening around her waist, his hand caressing her cheek, his lips on hers. She couldn’t help but clutch his arm tightly, feeling like she didn’t want to let go.
When Kyuhyun finally pulled away, Taeyeon was looking at him with surprise and confusion etched on her face. “Why did you do that?” she asked softly.
“What?” Kyuhyun asked, surprised and embarrassed. “You looked like you wanted me to kiss you.”
“When did I ever give you that impression?” Taeyeon denied, her cheeks turning red.
“You were awkward and pausing and everything,” he insisted.
“So you kissed me just because you thought I wanted you to?” she demanded, frowning.
“No, of course not,” he rebuffed. “I wanted to kiss you, too.”
Taeyeon opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again when what he said had sunk in.