Kim Kibum bit his lip, pawing at the shoulder of his shorter companion. "Yah, Jjongie, what do you think you're doing? We're going to be late." He scolded moodily as the other just giggled quietly and nudged him away. The younger sighed shakily and set his jaw, gritting his teeth lightly. "What are you doing, hyung?" He asked again, trying to move around him so he could see. But the dino simply stood and turned before he could, revealing arms full of banana milk. 

"It's the first day of school, isn't it? Taemin must be nervous, with those guys who gave him trouble..." He said softly, looking down at the cute, oddly shaped bottles. "I thought maybe it might make him feel better?" He offered unsurely, looking back at the diva. 

Key melted, softening his gaze ever so slightly and clawing his hands discreetly so as not to show it. "Oh. Okay. Well... just hurry up." He advised coldly, only complying because of his soft spot for the maknae. Also, it might have something to do with the small crush that was forming on his older friend... but those thoughts were always pushed away quickly, never welcome. The feline-eyed boy tucked his thick, messy, ashy brown hair behind his ear- revealing a bit of the shaved side- and cleared his throat lightly as he watched his friend light up and nod, walking to the counter and placing the bottles there to be scanned. 

He's so kind...

It wasn't a rare thing for Key to think, especially not as of late, but he couldn't help but stare at Jonghyun absently and admire him. Luckily, the puppysoar was much too oblivious to notice, rather caught up in his counting of the shiny, silver coins he'd produced from his uniform pocket. A faint smile laced the older's thick, pink lips, and Key's gaze lingered there for a moment before he realized- with a sharp intake of breath- and ripped his gaze away, scolding himself.

None of that, now. You'd better stay away from that boy, Kibum. He doesn't deserve all your attitude, or your sourness. You hear? Keep away from Kim Jonghyun, he's too good for you.

But still, he found himself staring again. Lining his features with his eyes- the sharpness of his jawline, the way his chin and cheeks curved, and the softness of his mouth... The way his eyelashes rested against his tan cheeks and he was always smiling, at least faintly. That was Key's favorite thing, Jjong's smile, and it's perpetual prescence. Even when he was disappointed, he smiled. And it was tearing the rapper apart.

What could he do, tell him to stop? No. No, that would just be horrible. Key's face tinged a faint pink color as he pushed the lump down his throat and straightened the collar of his school uniform, suddenly really interested in the color pattern of the floor tiles. Red, blue, gold, green. Red, blue, gold, green. Red, blue, gold, green.

I'm a bad person.

"Yah, Bummie?"

Key jumped. He tilted his head to the side, surprised, ripped from his thoughts. "What?" He asked obliviously, and Jonghyun held the bag up, raising an eyebrow. "I'm finished buying the milk. We can go now." He said, giggling lightly. Key nodded, scolding himself for zoning out and plastering his usual smirk on his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out of the store. Jonghyun followed along behind him, wrapping the strap of the bag around his hand to get a better grip on it. He had a slight skip in his step as he walked, excited to see Taemin's reaction. The younger tilted his head back slightly, leaning his shoulders with it, and let out a breath- visible in the cold, harsh wind. 

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"Yah, Taemin! You almost forgot your textbooks!" Mrs. Lee scolded as she ran out the door after her son, smacking the small, cute blonde boy over the head moodily as she handed it to him. He blushed lightly and thanked her, taking it and watching her walk back into the house. A lot had been on his mind for the past couple of days, so naturally he'd forgotten something so simple- he couldn't think straight. Scolding himself, he thought about how much his mother had to deal with, and how much needlessly harder he made things for her. His grades were slipping, he always forgot to do his chores, all he wants to do is hang out with friends, and now she'll have to deal with him being bullied again. Or not deal with it.

That's what she did last year. And the year before.  And... well. 

Taemin sighed. It wasn't her fault, he knew that. He didn't tell her enough. He didn't fight back. He barely even told his friends. It was his fault. And besides, he deserved it. Right? He sighed once more, pulling out his phone and checking for any new messages. There were none. Until...

*ding.*

        KJH: Minnie, where r u? Me and kibum are walking to

        school, do u know where onew and min are? they'd better

        not be late, it's the first day!

A faint smile graced Taemin's pale, chapped lips and he chuckled dryly, tapping back a response with numb fingers. "Jjongie~" He murmured affectionately to himself, covering his mouth with his sleeve. Sniffing, he sent his reply and shoved his phone back into hs pocket. 

        LTM: Dino~! I just left. ^^ maybe u should call the hyungs??

       they're not to be trusted by themselves~ meet me in front

        of the art building? c:

Of course they would meet in front of the art building. They always did. This year would be no different, would it? It's not like much has changed... In fact, nothing has changed. Taemin's expression fell momentarily, his chest tightening up.

Better not think about that...

"F*****!" The pain spread through his ribs, over and over again as he was kicked. This was the third time he'd been beaten like this, since he'd made the fatal mistake of confessing his small crush on Ha Jin... "Does your mother know? That she made a mistake? Gays burn in hell, y'know!" The taunting didn't stop. The name-calling didn't stop. The kicking just got harsher. And Taemin had started to cry. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he'd sobbed.

"Please stop. Please stop. Please, I didn't do anything..." He pleaded quietly, panting and holding his throbbing side. The group paused for only a moment, something wavering in the expression of the leader. But it went away quickly, and was replaced by a cold smirk. "Right. And you never will, either. You think Ha Jin could like you? Even if he was gay... well, look at yourself." The leader jeered. Brushing chilled fingers over his bruised cheek, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Look at me? Look at me. Look at me. He's right, isn't he? Look at me. God, stupid. Stupid. Look at me.

Worthless.

Gay.

Mistake.

The maknae flinched upon remembering, brushing his same cold fingers over a now longsince healed cheek. The sudden urge to cry- to curl up, and just sob- overwhelmed him. It often did, as Tae was quite the crybaby, but this time the feeling was accompanied with other urges, and a deep sickness- an ache- in the pit of his stomach. He had to literally shake the thoughts away, a shiver shraping down his spine and wracking his body. Fumbling hands desperately twisted the scratched, silver band on his forefinger as he paused in his steps and focused a bit on breathing.

He allowed himself to remember later in the day, when he'd seen Minho. A nasty bruise had already developed on his cheekbone and there was absolutely no way to hide it, save his hair. But of course, the light strands had made way just long enough for the older to see what had happened to his young friend, something that was definitely more than running into a tree or something stupid like that.

He had gotten off lucky with convincing Min that it was a lot more miniscule than it was. His ribs had stayed hidden, and for that he was thankful. But what he was really, really thankful for was his friends. Apparently the frog had told their friends of what happened, that Taemin had been 'picked on' by a group of seniors and that naturally, they had to plan some grand gesture to lift his spirits. At least, that's how he was sure it must've happened. His friends were professionals in the art of scheming. 

The weight on Tae's chest eased a bit and his smile returned as he remembered coming home to all of them there in the living room, with strawberry cake and banana milk. Key-eomma had refused to stop snuggling him for the majority of the night, and they all slept there on the floor with thick blankets and empty milk bottles scattered about.

I'm so grateful for my friends~

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Jjong nudged the snow with his shoe as they neared the art building, to discover that Taemin had been waiting for them there. The dino's eyebrows drew together curiously, a faint frown forming as he wondered how in the world he got there before them if he really left when he said he did. 

"Yah, Minnie. How did you get here so early?"

The blonde squeaked and tensed up at Jonghyun's sudden appearance, his muscles only relaxing when he looked up and realized it was him. The younger let out a shaky giggle and regained his composure, straightening his back slightly. "I can't tell you that, Hyung. It's a secret."

"A secret? Tell me! Spill it, maknae!"

"But-- I just told you I couldn't! If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret!"

Jjong glared playfully, scrunching his nose. "Fine, then." He huffed. "But-- look what I brought you, Taebaby." The older male stated proudly, rustling through the bag to produce a bottle of banana milk. Taemin lit up completely and snatched it, holding it to his chest and smiling hugely. He frantically stuttered something that must've been a 'thank you,' but he was far too excited to actually say words. The older rolled his eyes playfully and chuckled, patting his head affectionately as he gently took the bottle and pierced a straw through the top. "You're welcome, Minnie~" He said sweetly, giggling as the boy held the straw daintily and drank. 

Oh, I forgot to call Hyung and Min... Where-

"Yah. Kim Jonghyun. Did you try to forget about me?"