Burbank High [11/18] Part I
Title: Burbank High [11/18] Part I
Pairing: OnKey, 2Min
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Drama
Rating: pg-15
Summary: Burbank High. The biggest and most prestigious school in the country. With the beginning of another year, Key finds himself struggling with popularity, first love, and the arrival of a new student, Lee Taemin, turning everything upside down.
Warning: A little bit of cursing going on and sex related issues.
A/N: Hey guys!! bet you didn't expect this update at all!! MUAHAHAHA. Yeah, i'm gonna start updating every weekend from now on :D hope you're excited!! anyways! NEWS!!! as you can see, i finally put the number of chapters this fic is gonna have!! i'm currently on chap 16 and i can pretty much calculate its gonna end with chap 18 :). Also, i wanna thank all the awesome readers that have stuck with this fic through the hiatus and all!! and the new readers who are simply awesome for liking this fic at one read!! really thank you!! :) To make things easier for you, i put the link of the songs mentioned in this chap, for you to open the link in another window if you wanna listen the songs or something, just in case ^^ I know some of you will be dissapointed that only part I was updated today, having to wait for next weekend for part II, but i changed some stuff in this chap, therefore i have to arrange part II as well! hope you understand!! Comments are really appreciated!! silent readers finally crawling out of their dark corners are obviously welcome! and spots are free for everyone to ask!!! okay i'm done now! lol enjoy!!! suggestions are welcomed as well~~~
“Oh my God …… T-Taemin? Wait, its Taeyeon now I guess …”
“Guys, I think we should make another plan…. I’m really not digging the idea of my boyfriend dancing around in that anymore …”
“Welcome to my world Minho … a world where I have to deal with MY boyfriend shaking his goods in that…”
“SOMEBODY CALL 911!! TAEMIN FIRE BURNING ON THE DANCE FLOOR! WHOOOOOOOOAA~”
“… Shut up Jonghyun …”
It was like time had stopped for a moment, leaving us all freeze up with the lovely boy currently in disguise just within reach. I couldn’t believe that this gorgeous girl twirling a piece of black synthetic hair between her fingers was actually a boy… our boy. I had to admit though, that even if I was obviously against this crazy plan Minho and Jinki had been plotting for who knows how long, Taemin truly looked like a girl, making the process of fooling everyone a piece of cake. While my boyfriend and his best friend stood petrified in awe at the brilliance of their plan, I dragged Jonghyun to the other side of the room, stopping his singing session at once.
“Jonghyun I really REALLY don’t have a good feeling about this.” The brunette quickly waved his palm back and forth, smiling as he caught the distress in my voice.
“Come on Key! It really is a pretty cool plan! You’re gonna fake having gotten your ankle twisted or something, leaving no choice but to let Taeyeon, Taemin’s evil twin sister, step up to the plate. Minho will make it look like he’s cheating on Taemin with his sister, making all the girls want to hug our boy and console him!” It did sound like a plan that could go well, if it wasn’t for the tiny fact that it would leave Minho like a freaking player.
I shook my head, not wanting to give in to the idea just yet. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from Taemin, watching the way he awkwardly raised his white high-knee stockings all the way to his thighs, making them disappear beneath the plaid skirt.
“He doesn’t want to be pitied! And believe me, all he’s gonna get after tonight is a bunch of horny boys drooling behind him and girls wanting to tear him to bloody pieces! Oh God he’s gonna be hated for eternity…” I groaned, feeling a headache writhing slowly from within the deepest parts of my stressed brain. Jonghyun massaged my shoulders, whispering that everything was gonna be okay and to trust the seniors. I subtly watched the way Minho was arranging Taemin’s wig, helping him become accustomed to the straight jet black hair cascading down his shoulders. Jinki was currently busying himself with the CD compilation by the stereo system, trying to figure out which song would be good to taste Taemin’s dancing abilities.
In the peaceful silence of the locked dance studio I realized that everyone was putting their effort into helping Taemin’s situation, and the only jackass complaining about it was me. Frowning in displeasure at my lack of support, I quietly patted Jonghuyn’s hand currently massaging my shoulder blades, smiling to the side in reassurance.
“You’re right Jonghyun, this plan can work out if we put ourselves into it.”
“I am? Well, took you long enough to figure it out.” Rolling my eyes, I made my way towards the nervous junior currently fidgeting with his skirt, looking as cute as ever while chewing his bottom lip.
“Nervous?” The boy quickly nodded, not knowing how to handle himself with his wig and his outfit. Minho was fusing over Taemin’s plaid skirt, saying it was too small and wanting to wrap him all in a quilt and keep him locked up until the show was over. Jonghyun was now discussing with Jinki his choice of song and I was stuck in front of the younger one not knowing what to do, or how to help. Suddenly, between barking at Jonghyun to stop singing failed rap songs and trying to pray Minho’s hands off Taemin as he was literally throwing random articles of clothes to Taemin and wrapping them around his legs, I decided that I should try helping Taemin with the only thing I knew I could help him with.
“Just follow my lead okay? Don’t worry about a thing.” Taking a quick glance at the clock by the door, I realized we only had two hours until the dance members arrived to retrieve the last part of their customs. Extra classes were suspended unexpectedly by the request of the students’ committee, wanting more time to give the final touches to the stage and their performances. All the class groups performing were doing their last rehearsal, trying on clothes and checking the tracks and sound system. I wasn’t gonna lie, the moment Jonghyun dragged me to the deserted dance studio along with the seniors and the junior currently fidgeting, I started feeling guilty. This plan had been so sudden and out of the blue that I didn’t manage to at least fake an illness or something, abandoning my friends at the rehearsal. Surely the dance crew would eventually understand, but that didn’t ease my mind. I felt like I was letting them down in a way…
Pushing the guilty thoughts aside, I made my way to the costumes piled up in the corner of the room. Blindly selecting the first wig of the bunch, I tried not to look as I took a few other items that would help me feminize my image.
“Umm… guys can you like turn around?” It was until I started to unbutton my vest that I finally realized everyone was staring at me. Taemin and Minho had a huge question mark over their heads, Jinki’s eyes were already bulging out of their eye socket as Jonghyun kept giggling and whispering stuff over the senior’s ear, making him squeak. They all awkwardly gave me some space, turning around to face the bare wall of the studio as to not catch my naked reflection over the mirrors.
As quickly as possible I started getting undressed, stealing quick glances at the backs of the four boys silently waiting for me to finish. The skirt was half way up my thighs when Jonghyun swiftly turned around, making me frown in his direction. We’ve seen each other naked so many times I was pretty much immune to embarrassment when Jjong was concern. He knew my body as well as I knew his, having helped him bathe many times before when he got into one of his infamous scooter accidents in our neighborhood, always resulting on a broken middle finger and a bump in the head…
“What do you want peeping tom?” Annoyingly, I started unzipping the skirt once again, cursing as I realized I slipped it on the wrong side. The brunette staring at me was grinning playfully, leaning on Jinki’s side as the senior stiffened in response. I could tell from afar that Jinki was sweating bullets, probably restraining himself from turning around and covering me from the prying eyes. Jonghyun started whispering once again over the older one’s ear, his eyes trailing my figure as if he was describing-
“-He’s softly grazing his fingers over the skirt’s waistband, taking his time to pull it all up his white milky thighs, soft as satin… His hips wiggle a little as he finally gets the skirt over his waist, tracing his hipbones with his fingertips to adjust the zipp-”
“What the fuck Jonghyun! Shut up and leave Jinki alone!” I contemplated the idea of throwing the high heels to my best friend, not believing he was actually describing Jinki the process of me getting dressed. Ignoring Jonghyun’s pout, I quickly adjusted the last details of my costume, arranging the disheveled wig to let the brown curls fall over my shoulders. The skirt was slightly longer than Taemin’s, having my legs bare in contrast to the junior having his covered with knee high socks. Breathing a lungful of air, I put my heels on, feeling my legs tensing up in displeasure.
“Okay, you can turn now.” It was quite the change of appearance, I knew that very well. Taemin was shocked to say the least, Minho was staring at my outfit with amusement, Jinki was hyperventilating in shock and Jonghyun was grinning happily while fanning the poor senior.
“Let’s get his over with; these heels are seriously killing me. Jonghyun help Jinki sit by the wall. Minho, put some music on.”
It took a few minutes before Justin Timberlakes’ My love started blasting through the speakers. Lifting an eyebrow in the senior’s direction, Minho shrugged in response, no meaning behind his choice of music.
The cute junior was paying attention and taking notes, sitting by the wall while Minho rubbed his shoulders to ease his nervousness. I tried to ignore Jjong mouthing the lyrics while swaying his shoulders and locked eyes with Jinki. Surprisingly he was silent, just watching intently and when the first notes started hitting on the melody I rolled my hips with the flow, feeling my body moving liquidly with the beat. It was a slow sensual hip-hop song, with firm beats and marked tempos. I couldn’t help but notice the way everyone simply disappeared in the room, like their existence had been just a mere illusion swiftly brush away, leaving no one but myself and a certain attentive spectator.
In the middle of the dance I kicked the heels off, saving myself the blisters. While dancing, I often found myself losing all inhibitions, closing my eyes while moving with the air. Muscles flexed with the movements, rolling and moving with every step and every twirl. But this time was different, as I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Jinki, from his eyes that seemed to pierce my very core. I felt nude and bare all of a sudden, like he was seeing a part of me meant for no one to see. All my life I’ve built this wall that separated me from everyone else. Jonghyun had been the only one able to climb up that wall, but all through highschool that wall just seemed to grow thicker and taller. People were scared to approach me, fascinated by my looks and my money that unknowingly they placed me in this untouchable pedestal too high for anyone to try and reach it.
Jinki came by like the wind, knocking that barrier down so smoothly and painless, and having been pushed down from that pedestal must’ve hurt, should’ve hurt, but Taemin had been at the bottom, having already been standing at the bottom waiting to catch me. Now it was like they could see me, aside from my bitterness, my coldness and all the unfriendliness that still lurked inside me. Now I could truly say Jinki had seen it all, and by the way his eyes sparkled with this unhidden emotion, a mixture between love and pride, I knew he loved me through it all.
“Damn guuuurl! If it weren’t fo the fact that you’re my brotha from another mother, I would’ve jizzed my pants in a second! Fo sho!!”
“… Nice Jonghyun …. I feel like such a proud boyfriend knowing Key almost made you cream yourself....”
“Now Jinki don’t be hatin. Hate the game not the player my nizzle.”
“SHUT THE HECK UP JJONG YOU’RE NOT A FREAKING RAPPER!” Minho’s growl pulled me out of my thoughts, noticing that the song had already ended. While both brunette and senior argued about Jonghyun being fucking Asian and incapable of having a swagger I turned my attention to Taemin, smiling at the way he bit his lips as he stood up.
“Wow Kibum! That was really awesome!” I laughed heartedly, ruffling the younger one’s fake hair as a hand landed softly on my arm. Jinki had this gently smile over his lips, and I couldn’t help but feel butterflies ruffling in my stomach as he slowly lowered his head to lay a faint kiss over my lips.
“You’re amazing Kibum, I loved your dance.” I BET YOU DID BRO! FO SHO!- ouch! What the heck Minho! It was an unanimous decision to ignore the junior, rolling our eyes as Minho shook Jonghyun to his senses, Return to your ethnic roots for Christ’s sake!
“Thank you baby. Now Taemin, I hope this demonstration helped you embrace the roll of a girl? I know it’s hard, but I’ve done it in several school performances so I’m quite used to it.” Taemin nodded, smiling brightly as he twisted a piece of hair between his fingers.
“I did!! Thank you soo much Kibum! I’m still nervous about the whole dancing thing but I’ll do my best.”
“Why don’t we look at your dancing skills now Taemin? Maybe Key can help you if you’re not good at something?” Jinki’s suggestion was pretty good, Minho already searching for the appropriate music. I settled down between a now quiet Jonghyun, patting his head as he mumbled something about Minho being such a player hater, and Jinki. The senior’s arm softly wrapped itself around my shoulders, making me sigh contently as I snuggled into his warmness. Giggling as he placed feathery kisses over my head, I paid attention to a now nervous Taemin as he settled in the center of the room, his eyes shifting nervously back and forth between his boyfriend and his spectators.
“Are you ready Taemin?” Minho’s deep voice boomed in the silence and a couple of breathes later the young junior nodded his head in response.
“I’m ready. Turn it on.”
----------------(Taemin’s POV)----------------
It’s been a long time. So long that at first I forgot how to start, how to unravel that once forgotten knowledge and use it to my advantage. The moment the music started playing in the room a part of my brain instantly disconnected; the part that controlled my self-consciousness.
My hands instantly flew to my hair the moment Chris Brown’s Run it ran through my ears, slowly rolling my head in a circular motion. I tuned everything out, my friends, my boyfriend, this room, this school, my very existence. It was like jumping into a hole and traveling to the past, to the moment were dancing was the only way to vent my problems out. Blood started pumping furiously through my veins, traveling to every inch of my body and fueling my energy. Memories started flooding my mind, invading my body as I remembered how good it used to make me feel, how hot and how easy it had been to jump into that dance studio a couple of blocks from my house after school, slipping on a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants and just letting myself loose in the desolated studio. The dance instructor back then was a friend of my mother, letting me use his studio for free, and all those things summed up to me becoming addicted to this.
I couldn’t make myself face my friends, or my boyfriend for that matter, so I just closed my eyes and dropped down in one go, bending one leg and stretching the other one in one perfect line to the side, thanking Key for giving me flats instead of high heels. Quickly my leg followed the other one in the bending position, and with a simple body roll I slowly made my body stood up, hips shaking with the beat. It all felt so familiar and so right that a smile started tugging my lips, arms moving on their own and feet following the rhythm.
Somewhere in the middle of the dance I found myself thinking why I let this go. Why I succumbed to fear and left my true passion. That night that a classmate saw me entering the dance studio he didn’t even give it a second a thought and hurried himself home to post the news in the school’s bulletin board. News traveled fast, and my hell became my nightmare from then on. I resented dancing then, telling myself I would never be put in that position ever again. I submerged myself in my studies and my grades even more, scaring my mother at some point as she watched her son consume himself in geometry books and science. She was the one that told me about the newspaper add, the one that eagerly talked me into taking Burbank’s scholarship test, pushing me further away from my love. Until now, I don’t know if I should thank her…
Grinning my hips in perfect synchronization, I slid my body to the floor, feeling the coldness of the floor under my stomach as I swiftly rolled on my back, feeling the skirt riding up as I swiftly grinded my hips in the air, pulling myself up moments later just to whip my hair to the side, sweat making the black strands of synthetic hair stick to my neck.
With my skirt all ride up, the small frilly gray vest sticking to my figure and hair clinging to my neck and forehead, I dared to say I felt happy. It was like returning home from a long extenuating trip. The rhythm seeped through my skin, vibrating over my bones solidly with each beat. The music was over too soon, finishing with a solid pump as my body slowly stopped its sinuous moves. All the way my eyes had been closed, afraid of what their reactions might be. Would Kibum feel cheated? Minho, Jonghyun and Jinki? Biting my lips, I tried not to think too bad about them, knowing they were the best of friends, simply friends anyone would wish to have. Slowly, my eyes fluttered in an indecisive manner, opening up just to stare blankly at the picture in front.
“Uhh guys?”
“Go get more tissues Taemin!! Your boyfriend is about to die from a huge blood lost.” Numbly, I hurriedly made my way to my backpack, grabbing a bag of tissues before turning around and heading to the helpless senior. Squeaking in surprise at the amount of blood trailing over his hand, I hurried to Minho’s side, freaked out by the way he was clutching a soaked tissue over his bloodied nose.
“Oh my God!! Minho are you okay??” In any other situation, I would’ve giggled by the way Minho blushed in embarrassment. His shoulder’s were hunched over in shame, face as red as a cherry as Jonghyun laughed his ass off while replacing the bloodied Kleenex with a new one.
“I’m okay baby, I’m just shocked… yo-you dance very well.” His words got all chocked up in the end, and I couldn’t help but caress his cheek as a silent apology. I should’ve held back a little, to not surprise them so much…
“Taemin… I-I.. I don’t even know what to say…” Kibum’s voice made me flinch in surprise. I caught the perplexed look in the junior’s eyes, mimicking perfectly his boyfriend’s baffled expression. Seeing the hopeless expression in the junior’s face made guilt writhe inside me, eating everything in its way. Maybe I should’ve said something… or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, as they would’ve been disgusted and upset anyways. Lowering my head, I started hating the silence, the guilt and the imminent things to come.
“Since when Taeminnie?” I quietly stared at Jonghyun, his curious eyes urging me to response.
“B-back at my other school, I used to be constantly picked on and made fun of since middle school… the only way I could keep myself sane was dancing. I’ve been doing it since I remember… one day one of my classmates found out about my dancing sessions that took place at this studio close to my house and the bullying became worst, so I just decided to quit and focus on my studies…”
The room was silent, dead. Closing my eyes, I counted to ten, wanting to be sucked by some spontaneous black hole and transported directly to my parallel life were I would be a superhero saving kids from stuck up buttholes. Stifling my laughter at my silly imagination, I remembered this wasn’t the time or place to be laughing about parallel universes, and that put an instant pout in my face.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Shrugging helplessly, I softly sighed in defeat, feeling utterly miserable.
“I thought it wasn’t that important… I’m sorry… it’s okay if you think I’m a hypocrite for keeping this a secret an-”
“Are you kidding me? Taemin you were fucking perfect!!! Shaking your hips like a pro and giving Minho a nosebleed!! Seriously like a pro dude!”
Laughing, I felt grateful for the brunette’s positive feedback. Kibum was silent through the whole speech and outburst, and I was about to open my mouth and say something when he quickly stood up, excusing himself as he swiftly walked out of the room. I wasn’t the only one surprised by the attitude, Jjong instantly falling silent while starting at the room his very best friend had walked out off. The way Key had coldly excused himself, not even glancing at my way as he stomped out of the room was simple unsettleling, and feeling like the worst friend ever my eyes started watering, the saltiness prickling my eyes as the idea of Kibum hating me started circling my head. Minho quietly stood up, surrounding me with his arms as a soft sob escaped my lips.
“Don’t worry Taemin… Key is just upset that kept this all to yourself, he’s not mad at you or anything.” Jonghyun’s words gave me no peace as there was some sort of uncertainty in his voice, making me sob harder as I fisted my hands over the senior’s vest, hiccupping between the I love you Minho whispered over my head. Jinki was nowhere to be found, obviously having followed Kibum outside. Wiping my tears away, I couldn’t help but stare at the closed door, just wanting Kibum to waltz in with that huge smile over his face, hugging all this pointless drama away.
The thought of the junior being mad at me, or simply hating me was too much. Key had been the first person that talked to me, the first one that saw past my simple clothes, my economic background, and my obvious plainness, pushing all that aside to simply see me. He saw me, befriended me and stuck up for me when no one did. He was pretty much my first and dearest friend, my best friend above all, and I couldn’t believe I had upset him with my stupid secrets. Onew came in a few minutes later, sporting such a blank expression over his face that it ridiculously fueled my tears even more.
“Don’t cry Taemin, there’s no need to, really.” Shaking my head, I didn’t believe the senior’s words.
“-a true battle really, but I managed to sneak around some girls and bring a couple of hairclips to adjust your wig Taeminnie cause it kept moving throughout the dance. Oh! And put this shorts under your skirt, you don’t want horny assholes stalking you or somethi- … why is everyone looking at me like that?”
“K-kibum I’m s-sorry!” I didn’t wait for the junior to react before I flung myself across the room and into his arms. While I cried in his chest I didn’t catch the puzzled expression crossing his features as he mouthed to Jinki a quick What’s going on?
“What’s wrong Taeminnie, why are you crying?” His soft hands caressed my hair as I lifted my face soaked with tears. He was clearly confused by my behavior… or maybe he was just too mad to even talk about it.
“I’m sorry for keeping this as a secret. I-I wanted to tell you guys about this, but it has been so long since I danced so I thought it wasn’t that important, a-and I was really gonna tell you about it eventually b-but… I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Wait, Taemin I-“
“Come on Key! Give Minnie a break!! He said he didn’t mean to keep his dancing a secret, I know it’s a surprise and all but just give him your support okay?”
“I do support him!”
“Then why are you mad at him?” Exasperated, the junior puffed his cheeks cutely, pouting while Jinki chuckled beside us. I didn’t understand what was going on, clearly Key knew something that he wasn’t sharing, and judging by the way his boyfriend was finding the whole situation amusing it was obvious said male was into it as well. I quietly wiped my tears to listen to what he had to say…
“Yah! I’m not mad at him!! I have nothing to be mad about in the first place! I’ve known about his dancing skills since last week!”
I could tell my astonishment was shared with the other students in the room, eyes wide open and mouth gaping like a fish.
“Y-you- How- WHAT?” Kibum’s arms hugged me softly as he laughed at our complete surprise. By the way Jinki was smiling to the while situation I could tell he already knew about this. Jonghyun was as surprised as I was, and Minho clearly didn’t find the logic in all this.
“Key!! What the heck! How come you knew about Taeminnie being a sexy dance machine and didn’t even tell me!!” Jjong’s whine pulled me out of my stupor, stepping out of Key’s embrace to properly stare at him throughout this whole confusion.
“Are you serious? You knew about my past?”
“Remember the slumber party we had last week? Well, while you were getting your stuff ready and Betty Crocker here was baking the afternoon away with your mom,” He quickly pointed his thumb at the insulted junior, “I was able to get a glimpse of all those trophies you won while in middle school and the pictures of you dancing that were all over your living room.”
“Why didn’t you say anything though?” A soft smile curled itself across his lips, his hand caressing my cheek tenderly.
“I could tell right away that dancing had been a very important part of your life while growing up, and that there must’ve been a pretty big reason behind your decision to give that up, so I waited for you to share that with us when the moment came up. I’m not mad at all Taeminnie, on the contrary, I’m happy to see you sharing with us such an important part of your life. I could tell by the trophies that you were quite good at it, but I was quite surprise at how good you really are!! I somehow feel like a proud dad.”
“I would go with proud mom Key … cause you certainly don’t look at your manliest right now.”
“Shut it Jonghyun!”
My heart swelled up with his words, his intentions. There was nothing but infinite care and gratitude towards the older one. I hugged him once more, burying my face in his chest as I mumbled endless thank you. Key laughed softly, rubbing my back tenderly while letting me now it was okay. I truly meant to tell them about my past, about a past were I was just a normal kid loving to dance, that I had never been the nerd everyone portrayed me as. I had been tempted the first day at Burbank to enroll in Key’s dance crew, feeling a searing longing crawling over my chest as the junior’s eyes sparkled while talking about his liking towards dancing. Did I regret letting go so easily of my passion? Of course, but at the same time I was happy, cause I had been able to find another passion as well. Chemistry might be boring to some, tedious to others, but I found it simply fascinating. And after all, Chemistry was what brought Minho and I together, so I’m forever grateful to that science. Dancing will always bring a smile and warm memories, as it will stay in my heart till I die. Its part of who I am, complementing me into a whole, and denying it would be like denying myself.
“Thank you guys so much for understanding. Even though I love dancing very much, and always will, I’m content with how things are. I’m pretty much infatuated with Chemistry as well as gardening, so my dancing background will simply be a sweet memory.”
Kibum nodded in agreement, kissing my hair in reassurance. Minho’s hand slipped in mind, squeezing it softly before lifting it up and placing a tender kiss over the pulse. I felt loved in those moments, finally fitting in into something I never thought I would. It was like becoming part of the same thing, and now I could say I was part of them, part of this group and this life. I didn’t feel so alone anymore, so out of place and so underrated.
“You don’t have to feel like we’ll judge you for your past Taemin. We all love you and support you okay? Always.” Minho’s words pulled the strings of my heart, making me smile wildly while kissing the tall senior whole-heartedly. From the sidelines I could catch Kibum hugging Jinki, eyeing us with care and affection as the senior nodded in acceptance to the silent promise. Jonghyun was sniffing beside them, wailing about how he loved happy endings.
“Yeah Taemin, you could pretty much be a pimp rolling on the streets at the wee hours of the night recruiting willing strippers and we would’ve accepted you anyways.” Everyone glared silently at the brunette, Kibum kicking him in the butt for ruining the moment, but despite the silliness, I appreciated the thought.
“Thank you guys really. Now I know that despite my past and all, you are all willing to accept it and understand.” I couldn’t help myself, letting my eyes land on the senior silently watching the whole scene. Jinki was staring at me intently, catching the meaning behind my words. His shoulders visibly stiffened, flinching when Kibum turned to the side just to smile and peck him on the cheek. There was a torn expression on his face, like debating with himself, and even though I felt bad for making him remember his problematic past, I was still waiting for him to tell Kibum about his past marriage. Key was a very understanding human being, beautiful from the inside out, and seeing how much love and affection the junior exuded while being by Jinki’s side, I was certain he would accept Jinki’s past with caring arms.
“Of course baby, that’s what friends do.” Giving my tall boyfriend a brief kiss, I quickly broke eye contact with the senior, letting the words sink in while giving him a break. He had a lot to think about, Minho already urging the boy to tell his boyfriend about his tumultuous past for days now.
“I guess everyone agrees that Taemin being one hell of a dancer is a huge plus to our plan. No one is gonna suspect that our gorgeous nerdy baby is actually sin incarnated, so we can pretty much consider this plan a success.”
Smiling, I started discussing with Kibum the weak points of my dancing, the junior giving advices on how to feminize some moves and praising highly my fluid movements. Minho and Jinki started moping about their boyfriends being too hot to be considerate legal, already plotting to burn alive the entire male population of Burbank while Jonghyun clung over his best friend’s back snooping in on our conversation. Now that Kibum knew all about my past I felt at ease, like a heavy weight had been lifted from my chest. It was like we were connected in a whole new level, sharing experiences that united us in a way. We interchanged tips, showing our moves and pointing out flaws. Key had a huge smile over his face as he showed me his chest pump, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I showed him my popping technique.
“Hey guys! Why don’t you dance something together! In fifteen minutes the dance members are gonna be crowding the studio and all so why don’t you take this last few minutes to share a song?”
Jonghyun’s idea sounded pretty awesome, and as Key kissed his best friend’s cheek while telling him how brilliant he was, I quickly told Minho to search something Key and I could dance to. Minutes later the heavy beats of Timbaland’s Bounce started blasting in the room, and in cue, my body synchronized itself perfectly with Kibum’s, like two halves of a whole.
It was amazing how tuned our moves were, flowing smoothly through the beats and the rhythm. From my peripheral vision I caught sight of Key, watching the way his feline eyes captivated everyone. I wanted to be able to have that appeal, that something that made Jinki’s face boil red. Swiftly I directed my eyes towards the tall senior watching our performance intently by the wall, arms crossed over his chest as his chocolate eyes followed my every move. I couldn’t think of anything else but Minho, loving the way my body moved to the switch of his eyes. In unison, we dropped to the floor, swaying our arm to the side while rolling our bodies back up.
“Oh shit mamasitas!! Move those hips!!! Yeah like that! Papi Jonghyun likes it!” I couldn’t help laughing at that, breaking eye contact with Minho as Key was tempted to throw his abandoned high heels at him.
We were so engrossed in our own world that we didn’t noticed or hear the door cracked open, or the way ten pairs of eyes widened at the sight that greeted them inside, astonished by the performance taking place in the dance studio. It was like Kibum and I had been dancing for years, partners from day one. The junior knew what I was gonna do seconds before performing the same movement, and somehow I was able to follow his quick moves, popping my hip to the side as he slipped his leg between mine just to grind himself into me, skirts riding up with the movement.
I tried not to laugh at the way Jinki was biting his lip, face inhumanly red as Minho was subtly fanning himself from afar. Suddenly Key turned around, pressing himself flush against my front, my hands instantly flying to grasp his hips. I could catch a little bit of Minho and Jinki’s breath, but paid no mind as we started rolling together, turning around minutes later to finish as one.
“Holy fuck… Key is that you?”
I recognized right away the voice of the junior Kibum ran into a couple of days ago. Chansung slowly stepped inside the studio, followed by his baffled team members. They were all blushing and nervously avoiding eye contact with the fuming seniors now possessively at our side. Mingo stepped in front of me, not wanting the dancers to take a good look at myself in fear of being exposed. Jinki was simply staying by the junior’s side, his arm twitching furiously with the thought of wrapping it around his boyfriend’s waist. Jonghyun was simply leaning against the wall, smirking at the whole situation.
“Uh yeah, it’s me. Sorry I missed the practice guys, but I have something to tell you. I’m not gonna be able to participate with you on the show.”
Surprise fell on the faces of the boys awkwardly dressed like drag queens, clearly confused by the sudden news. All eyes fell on me suddenly, making me blush as I hid myself behind Minho, the senior covering me with his body as the boys started approaching us slowly.
“Oh that’s a shame… but we understand, I mean, who would pass the opportunity to dance with… with such a great dancer.” Chansung blushed suddenly, nervously smiling as I popped my head out from Minho’s arms, blinking furiously at the way all the dancers blushed in unison.
“What? No, I’m not dancing at al-“ Nobody paid attention the Kibum’s speech unfortunately, all eyes centered in me as curiosity hung heavily in the air.
“You dance really, like REALLY well, just as Key. I believe we haven’t met before?” I bit my lip, uncertain by the sudden situation. This was part of the plan, one screw up and the whole plan would fall at our feet. Minho slowly turned his head sideways, nodding me to go ahead and answer. Coughing a few times to prepare my voice, I quickly stepped away from Minho’s shelter.
“My name is Lee Taeyeon. I-I’m Taemin’s twin sister.” Shock was pretty clear in everyone’s eyes, and as I fidgeted nervously, fingering the hem of my vest to distract myself, I tried to avoid the stares and to tune out all the whispers. Somehow it felt like the first day in Burbank all over again, but it was just a onetime thing only so I had to suck it up and play my part.
“Y-you’re Lee Taemin’s twin?? Holy shi- uhh nice to meet you. My name is Jokwon…” In cue all the dancers started greeting me at once, some blushing and stuttering while the others pretty much put themselves out as pretty much available to anything. From the corner of my eyes I could tell Minho was dying to smack all the hands furiously fighting to shake mine, and I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the whole thing. Kibum was too busy dismissing the drooling seniors silently gawking at him from afar to even acknowledge this, and Jinki was too busy giving murderous glares to the oblivious students.
“Aren’t you boys supposed to be getting ready for your performance? It’s already 5 o’ clock.” Everyone was instantly snapped out of their bubble, making me sigh in relief as I hugged Jonghyun with my dear life, the brunette slipping an arm around me to protect me from prying eyes. He was the savior of the day for sure.
“Right!! Come on everyone!! Grab your wigs and let’s head to the theater! We’ll see you guys later!! Taeyeon, it was nice meeting you! We’ll be looking forward to your performance with Key tonight!”
I couldn’t do anything but stare at the boys scurrying out of the room while pulling their wigs on, Kibum clearly too shocked to even utter a word. Our boyfriends were just mute; eyes wide open as our plan had turned upside down into a whole new level. Jonghyun shook his head, finding the whole thing amusing. I wondered what made those boys think that I was gonna be performing with Key at the talent show, and suddenly it dawned on me the raw reality. Everyone was now expecting me to dance with Key… tonight… at the talent show… in front of everyone…. in front of Yuri and her sick friends…
“Well shit, I guess we’re in troubles my peers.” Big troubles.
------------------(Key’s POV)-------------------
“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God! OH MY GOD! Jonghyun what the hell are we gonna do!!!”
“Calm down Key, come on breathe with me.” I quickly sucked a lungful of air, feeling like a pregnant lady as the brunette mimicked the breathings with me. Students were piled up at the vast backstage, nervously reciting their numbers as parents and students started filing in the vast audience. Burbank was the only private institution in the country that had a proscenium theater. The beautiful structure rose up at the left wing of the campus, a few miles away from the three story building housing Burbank’s library with its own terrace were students could practice yoga freely.
The government often booked the theater for their yearly conferences and auctions, and students from all ages took great pride in the million worth building. Deep shades of ochre and gold tainted the walls, seats exquisitely made of a dark silky texture with embroidered edges. The stage was brightly illuminated by reflectors dangling from all directions, the polished wooden floor shinning as event coordinators placed the last few touches to the set. The blood red curtains were drawn, preventing the spectators to catch a glimpse of the expensive decorations.
Burbank’s talent show was very well known across the country, people paying high prices to get tickets to see the popular performances. As the institution was known for its excellent arts and sports background, it was expected to see such appeal from the public and the curious eyes of the media. All three levels of the theater were immediately occupied by people from all around the country, leaving the center of the audience to students and family members. Everyone performing had a huge burden in their shoulders, since this was somehow like a one shot opportunity; to be a failure or to rise above the rest.
Jonghyun shushed me quietly, rubbing my back as I rested my forehead against his shoulder. Taemin was probably staying hidden with Minho at some dark corner at the desolated part of the backstage, and Jinki was currently rehearsing the piano piece Jonghyun was gonna be singing, as the senior agreed to accompany Jjong in his solo debut. And here I was, stuck with my nerves while my best friend tried to assured me everything would be alright. I wasn’t actually nervous for myself, as I was pretty much used to participating in this sort of things, but I was dead worried about Taemin, fearing for the worst. Anything could happen, and I still couldn’t believe that Chansung would be so dense to believe that I had missed today’s rehearsal because I was planning to dance with Taemin’s twin sister.
“Fuck you Chansung…” Jonghyun laughed, kissing my head as I kept whining about my failed dance partner.
Between my whines and Jonghyun’s comforting words, I couldn’t help hearing a conversation taking place at a corner of the darkened space. Turning sideways, I realized it were the girls of the gymnastics team the ones happily discussing my love life in public, oblivious to my stare and my presence. I felt something freeze inside me, all traces of worry gone as my eyes instantly darkened into black slits. Jonghyun felt the sudden change in me, eyeing me with worry before directing his attention the crowd of girls gossiping the night away.
“I knew the moment those two kissed by the entrance that they weren’t together, I mean, seriously! Would you kiss your boyfriend like that in front of EVERONE? Like, I don’t think so.”
“Totally! I mean, Kibum is the hottest boy ever! And Jinki is like a god, but those two are soooo not meant to be!!”
“Girl please, you know Jinki is into girls! I saw the way he was eyeing me in the soccer match yesterday while we were cheering on Dream Team! His eyes were all over me!”
“Okay you’re seriously delusional Lizzy… you think Lee Jinki would even so much as glance your way? Maybe he would notice my charms, but obviously not yours.”
“The chances of him noticing you are way lower Seungyeon…”
“Hey!! That’s mean!! … but true.”
“Stop being so butthurt girls, neither Jinki nor Key would pay attention to any of you. Jinki’s ex girlfriend was a top model, a freaking Russian top model and Key pretty much doesn’t mingle with anyone, just hottie Jonghyun, and he’s obviously one to go for someone sexy and stylish so we can rest in peace that those two are just using this fake relationship as propaganda for their photography contest.”
“True that.”
“Yeah CL, you’re right.”
Jonghyung tried to stop me, but I was already on my way, enraged in the thought of sending those girls to hell. This was exactly why I didn’t mingle with my fellow Burbank students, with my classmates, with no one in particular. It was because of this sick environment filled with gossips and lies that I learnt to hate this school and this people. As I approached the group of girls, everyone started falling silent, telling by my darkened expression that problem was on its way.
“Isn’t it shady though? To pretend to go out in order to get votes in a contest?” The girl named Seungyeon declared, taking a quick look at her fingernails as the girls nodded in agreement, engaging in another heated discussion.
“You’re so right! Kibum is such a shady guy!! And Jinki too!” My fake girly voice went unnoticed as the girls where furiously checking their outfits, not paying attention to the new addition of their group.
“Tell me about it!! It’s clearly obvious that hot guys are not meant to be saints.” Snorting, I fell silent, waiting for them acknowledge my presence. Right away I caught the queen of the group, with her shiny hair and her manicured nails. She was paying too much attention to her short skirt that she didn’t realize I was just one step to choke her to death.
“Who the fuck do you think you are girl?” They were quick to catch the change of voice, as it was hoarse and quiet in contrast to their annoying pitchy one. The gasps were loud in the silent room, people witnessing this small incident with fear, and somehow I wanted them to see this, I wanted them to hear this cause I wasn’t gonna be taking much of their crap any longer. The girl named Seungyeon instantly paled, shaking in fear of being caught. The other girls were deadly silent, staring wide eyes as I sneered in their direction. I was known for being cold and meticulous, everything but friendly aside of the few people I was closed with, and this right now was proof of it.
“K-key, we-we were just t-talking nonsense, nothing m-more.” Slowly a smirk started forming in my face, dark and malicious as I approached the girl I’ve seen around section A before. I was drawn to the girl at the center of the circle, not knowing what it was that enticed me to inflict authority on her.
CL was known for her fierceness as well as her fashion sense, girls idolizing the junior and copying her style right off the bat. She was actually pretty good in her fashion sense, having caught a glance of her designs while passing one day by the fashion design class. Slowly I started approaching the scared girl, backing her up against the wall as her friends shrieked in disbelief. She was visibly shaking, utterly astonished that Kibum, Kim Kibum was trapping her against the wall. Face to face with the gossiping queen, I lowered my face to her level, my hot breath puffing over her parted lips. Her hands were trembling helplessly at her side, probably wanting to sneak around my chest to push me away.
“I don’t wanna hear gossip coming out of that ugly mouth of yours ever again.” My hands traveled all the way to each side of her head, locking her in place as her eyes widened at the exchange. My nose was barely bumping against hers, feline eyes glaring daggers at the junior too shocked to even utter a single word.
“By Monday all rumors about my relationship with Jinki being fake have to be gone and forgotten. I’m not joking girl.” She quickly nodded, fearing the consequences flashing through my eyes.
“Kibum I-“
“Don’t. Only people I actually like get to call me by my name. I’m Key for you, and for all of you people that never fail to disgust me.”
I quietly pulled myself away, watching the way the shocked girl slid all the way to the floor. Her friends quickly surrounded her, ushering her to tell them what was wrong, but she was just staring dead into my eyes, unable to break eye contact. We stared at each other for a while, trapped in what seemed to be a muted agreement. CL had this unique beauty, exotic honey colored eyes, tanned skin and bronze hair. Long straight hair fell over her shoulders, pooling at her lower back, and somehow between our staring I realized in fact she was beautiful. I noticed right away I was starting to look like a freak, blushing in awkwardness before turning around, not catching the way her eyes widened in surprise, or the way her lips twitched into a mischievous smile for a millisecond before returning to her shocked state.
“Show is over.” Like déjàvu, people scrammed and dispersed, returning to their previous activities. Making my way towards the brunette leaning against the wall, I took a deep breath and slumped by his side, feeling tired and fed up.
“Well, that was interesting.” Groaning, I rested my head against the broad shoulder, closing my eyes while trying to forget about the whole incident.
“Tell me about it… this people are seriously sick Jjong, for real.” Hearing the deep laughter at my side, I couldn’t help but laugh as well, finding the whole situation childish and ridiculous.
“I dunno what was more amusing though; the fact that you were all over the girl’s face probably making her pee in fear or the fact that you were telling those girls off while being dressed up as a girl as well.”
Rolling my eyes, I bumped his shoulder playfully, making the junior laugh. The sleek voice coming from the speakers signaled that the first call was being made, making everyone cringe nervously. The incident was forgotten in seconds, people to busy with freaking out to think about the little discussion. Fixing Jonghyun’s tuxedo while the brunette warmed up his vocals, I caught sight of Minho entering the backstage with a nervous Taemin in tow. All eyes fell on the cute junior, eyeing curiously the way his hand was interlocked with the senior.
“Hey guys, took you long enough! The first call was just announced.” Blushing, Taemin explained how they went to practice one more time at the studio, earning a pair of whistles and insinuating comments from the perverted junior. An event coordinator suddenly approached us, clipboard in hand as she started handing us our name tags.
“Kim Jonghyun, you’re gonna be first with Lee Jinki. I was told Kim Kibum was performing a duet with…?” The event coordinator stared curiously at the fidgeting girl at my side, the woman taking the microphone off her ear to catch the soft words directed at her way.
“T-Taeyeon, Lee Taeyeon. I’m Lee Taemin’s twin sister.” A couple of heads turned in our direction, some people gasping while others started murmuring and whispering their disbelief. The coordinator swiftly nodded in agreement, writing the name on her clipboard while telling us once again the order we were gonna be performing, our duet coming as the fourth act. Nervously, I slid an arm over the boy, watching the way Taemin anxiously avoided the stares directed at his way. Minutes later, Minho pulled Taemin towards him, enveloping him with his arms dust earning him a couple of puzzled expressions from the audience. I could read the words Two-timer already forming in everyone’s forehead.
“Alright Jonghyun, I arranged a couple of notes from the original so it could match the range of your voice, but you gotta pay attention to the intro in other to jump in at the right time.”
Hearing Jinki’s voice was like music to my ears after the mess with those girls, sighing in relief as I clung to my boyfriend like my life depended on it. Puzzled, Jinki awkwardly wrapped his arms around my waist, staring between Jonghyun and the couple beside us too engrossed in their embrace to care about the world. The senior stared blankly at his best friend hugging tightly the shaking girl in his arms, whispering comforting words over the junior’s head, his eyes slowly landing on me next as I was glaring daggers at the girls now cowering at the corner of the room, some still fussing over the still shocked CL. Sighing, he turned his attention towards Jonghyun, lifting an eyebrow as said male was whistling happily by the wall.
“Care to explain why my best friend is comforting his hysteric boyfriend who’s mumbling Oh my God Yuri is gonna kill me while mine is all cocooned in my arms, glaring daggers at some unknown girls at the corner?” Jonghyun laughed, playfully slapping Jinki’s arm as he started making his way towards their chorus teacher making signals all the way across the room in order to rehearse Jonghyun’s solo one more time.
“My bro, you missed EVERYTHING! Fo sho! But don’t worry though, follow my girl gaga and Just dance! Gonna be okay! Da-doo-doo-doo, JUST DANCE!!”
“Thanks, now everything is magically explained.”
“Yo, yo, yo, don’t be hatin cus you ain’t fly and smart like me. I’m gonna roll now homies, peace out! ”
“JONGHYUN! YOU’RE FUCKING KOREAN!”
Part II (13/02)
-------------
Are you guys excited about part two??? hmmm hope you're in for some clubbing, Burbank style!! :D
Pairing: OnKey, 2Min
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Drama
Rating: pg-15
Summary: Burbank High. The biggest and most prestigious school in the country. With the beginning of another year, Key finds himself struggling with popularity, first love, and the arrival of a new student, Lee Taemin, turning everything upside down.
Warning: A little bit of cursing going on and sex related issues.
A/N: Hey guys!! bet you didn't expect this update at all!! MUAHAHAHA. Yeah, i'm gonna start updating every weekend from now on :D hope you're excited!! anyways! NEWS!!! as you can see, i finally put the number of chapters this fic is gonna have!! i'm currently on chap 16 and i can pretty much calculate its gonna end with chap 18 :). Also, i wanna thank all the awesome readers that have stuck with this fic through the hiatus and all!! and the new readers who are simply awesome for liking this fic at one read!! really thank you!! :) To make things easier for you, i put the link of the songs mentioned in this chap, for you to open the link in another window if you wanna listen the songs or something, just in case ^^ I know some of you will be dissapointed that only part I was updated today, having to wait for next weekend for part II, but i changed some stuff in this chap, therefore i have to arrange part II as well! hope you understand!! Comments are really appreciated!! silent readers finally crawling out of their dark corners are obviously welcome! and spots are free for everyone to ask!!! okay i'm done now! lol enjoy!!! suggestions are welcomed as well~~~
“Oh my God …… T-Taemin? Wait, its Taeyeon now I guess …”
“Guys, I think we should make another plan…. I’m really not digging the idea of my boyfriend dancing around in that anymore …”
“Welcome to my world Minho … a world where I have to deal with MY boyfriend shaking his goods in that…”
“SOMEBODY CALL 911!! TAEMIN FIRE BURNING ON THE DANCE FLOOR! WHOOOOOOOOAA~”
“… Shut up Jonghyun …”
It was like time had stopped for a moment, leaving us all freeze up with the lovely boy currently in disguise just within reach. I couldn’t believe that this gorgeous girl twirling a piece of black synthetic hair between her fingers was actually a boy… our boy. I had to admit though, that even if I was obviously against this crazy plan Minho and Jinki had been plotting for who knows how long, Taemin truly looked like a girl, making the process of fooling everyone a piece of cake. While my boyfriend and his best friend stood petrified in awe at the brilliance of their plan, I dragged Jonghyun to the other side of the room, stopping his singing session at once.
“Jonghyun I really REALLY don’t have a good feeling about this.” The brunette quickly waved his palm back and forth, smiling as he caught the distress in my voice.
“Come on Key! It really is a pretty cool plan! You’re gonna fake having gotten your ankle twisted or something, leaving no choice but to let Taeyeon, Taemin’s evil twin sister, step up to the plate. Minho will make it look like he’s cheating on Taemin with his sister, making all the girls want to hug our boy and console him!” It did sound like a plan that could go well, if it wasn’t for the tiny fact that it would leave Minho like a freaking player.
I shook my head, not wanting to give in to the idea just yet. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from Taemin, watching the way he awkwardly raised his white high-knee stockings all the way to his thighs, making them disappear beneath the plaid skirt.
“He doesn’t want to be pitied! And believe me, all he’s gonna get after tonight is a bunch of horny boys drooling behind him and girls wanting to tear him to bloody pieces! Oh God he’s gonna be hated for eternity…” I groaned, feeling a headache writhing slowly from within the deepest parts of my stressed brain. Jonghyun massaged my shoulders, whispering that everything was gonna be okay and to trust the seniors. I subtly watched the way Minho was arranging Taemin’s wig, helping him become accustomed to the straight jet black hair cascading down his shoulders. Jinki was currently busying himself with the CD compilation by the stereo system, trying to figure out which song would be good to taste Taemin’s dancing abilities.
In the peaceful silence of the locked dance studio I realized that everyone was putting their effort into helping Taemin’s situation, and the only jackass complaining about it was me. Frowning in displeasure at my lack of support, I quietly patted Jonghuyn’s hand currently massaging my shoulder blades, smiling to the side in reassurance.
“You’re right Jonghyun, this plan can work out if we put ourselves into it.”
“I am? Well, took you long enough to figure it out.” Rolling my eyes, I made my way towards the nervous junior currently fidgeting with his skirt, looking as cute as ever while chewing his bottom lip.
“Nervous?” The boy quickly nodded, not knowing how to handle himself with his wig and his outfit. Minho was fusing over Taemin’s plaid skirt, saying it was too small and wanting to wrap him all in a quilt and keep him locked up until the show was over. Jonghyun was now discussing with Jinki his choice of song and I was stuck in front of the younger one not knowing what to do, or how to help. Suddenly, between barking at Jonghyun to stop singing failed rap songs and trying to pray Minho’s hands off Taemin as he was literally throwing random articles of clothes to Taemin and wrapping them around his legs, I decided that I should try helping Taemin with the only thing I knew I could help him with.
“Just follow my lead okay? Don’t worry about a thing.” Taking a quick glance at the clock by the door, I realized we only had two hours until the dance members arrived to retrieve the last part of their customs. Extra classes were suspended unexpectedly by the request of the students’ committee, wanting more time to give the final touches to the stage and their performances. All the class groups performing were doing their last rehearsal, trying on clothes and checking the tracks and sound system. I wasn’t gonna lie, the moment Jonghyun dragged me to the deserted dance studio along with the seniors and the junior currently fidgeting, I started feeling guilty. This plan had been so sudden and out of the blue that I didn’t manage to at least fake an illness or something, abandoning my friends at the rehearsal. Surely the dance crew would eventually understand, but that didn’t ease my mind. I felt like I was letting them down in a way…
Pushing the guilty thoughts aside, I made my way to the costumes piled up in the corner of the room. Blindly selecting the first wig of the bunch, I tried not to look as I took a few other items that would help me feminize my image.
“Umm… guys can you like turn around?” It was until I started to unbutton my vest that I finally realized everyone was staring at me. Taemin and Minho had a huge question mark over their heads, Jinki’s eyes were already bulging out of their eye socket as Jonghyun kept giggling and whispering stuff over the senior’s ear, making him squeak. They all awkwardly gave me some space, turning around to face the bare wall of the studio as to not catch my naked reflection over the mirrors.
As quickly as possible I started getting undressed, stealing quick glances at the backs of the four boys silently waiting for me to finish. The skirt was half way up my thighs when Jonghyun swiftly turned around, making me frown in his direction. We’ve seen each other naked so many times I was pretty much immune to embarrassment when Jjong was concern. He knew my body as well as I knew his, having helped him bathe many times before when he got into one of his infamous scooter accidents in our neighborhood, always resulting on a broken middle finger and a bump in the head…
“What do you want peeping tom?” Annoyingly, I started unzipping the skirt once again, cursing as I realized I slipped it on the wrong side. The brunette staring at me was grinning playfully, leaning on Jinki’s side as the senior stiffened in response. I could tell from afar that Jinki was sweating bullets, probably restraining himself from turning around and covering me from the prying eyes. Jonghyun started whispering once again over the older one’s ear, his eyes trailing my figure as if he was describing-
“-He’s softly grazing his fingers over the skirt’s waistband, taking his time to pull it all up his white milky thighs, soft as satin… His hips wiggle a little as he finally gets the skirt over his waist, tracing his hipbones with his fingertips to adjust the zipp-”
“What the fuck Jonghyun! Shut up and leave Jinki alone!” I contemplated the idea of throwing the high heels to my best friend, not believing he was actually describing Jinki the process of me getting dressed. Ignoring Jonghyun’s pout, I quickly adjusted the last details of my costume, arranging the disheveled wig to let the brown curls fall over my shoulders. The skirt was slightly longer than Taemin’s, having my legs bare in contrast to the junior having his covered with knee high socks. Breathing a lungful of air, I put my heels on, feeling my legs tensing up in displeasure.
“Okay, you can turn now.” It was quite the change of appearance, I knew that very well. Taemin was shocked to say the least, Minho was staring at my outfit with amusement, Jinki was hyperventilating in shock and Jonghyun was grinning happily while fanning the poor senior.
“Let’s get his over with; these heels are seriously killing me. Jonghyun help Jinki sit by the wall. Minho, put some music on.”
It took a few minutes before Justin Timberlakes’ My love started blasting through the speakers. Lifting an eyebrow in the senior’s direction, Minho shrugged in response, no meaning behind his choice of music.
The cute junior was paying attention and taking notes, sitting by the wall while Minho rubbed his shoulders to ease his nervousness. I tried to ignore Jjong mouthing the lyrics while swaying his shoulders and locked eyes with Jinki. Surprisingly he was silent, just watching intently and when the first notes started hitting on the melody I rolled my hips with the flow, feeling my body moving liquidly with the beat. It was a slow sensual hip-hop song, with firm beats and marked tempos. I couldn’t help but notice the way everyone simply disappeared in the room, like their existence had been just a mere illusion swiftly brush away, leaving no one but myself and a certain attentive spectator.
In the middle of the dance I kicked the heels off, saving myself the blisters. While dancing, I often found myself losing all inhibitions, closing my eyes while moving with the air. Muscles flexed with the movements, rolling and moving with every step and every twirl. But this time was different, as I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Jinki, from his eyes that seemed to pierce my very core. I felt nude and bare all of a sudden, like he was seeing a part of me meant for no one to see. All my life I’ve built this wall that separated me from everyone else. Jonghyun had been the only one able to climb up that wall, but all through highschool that wall just seemed to grow thicker and taller. People were scared to approach me, fascinated by my looks and my money that unknowingly they placed me in this untouchable pedestal too high for anyone to try and reach it.
Jinki came by like the wind, knocking that barrier down so smoothly and painless, and having been pushed down from that pedestal must’ve hurt, should’ve hurt, but Taemin had been at the bottom, having already been standing at the bottom waiting to catch me. Now it was like they could see me, aside from my bitterness, my coldness and all the unfriendliness that still lurked inside me. Now I could truly say Jinki had seen it all, and by the way his eyes sparkled with this unhidden emotion, a mixture between love and pride, I knew he loved me through it all.
“Damn guuuurl! If it weren’t fo the fact that you’re my brotha from another mother, I would’ve jizzed my pants in a second! Fo sho!!”
“… Nice Jonghyun …. I feel like such a proud boyfriend knowing Key almost made you cream yourself....”
“Now Jinki don’t be hatin. Hate the game not the player my nizzle.”
“SHUT THE HECK UP JJONG YOU’RE NOT A FREAKING RAPPER!” Minho’s growl pulled me out of my thoughts, noticing that the song had already ended. While both brunette and senior argued about Jonghyun being fucking Asian and incapable of having a swagger I turned my attention to Taemin, smiling at the way he bit his lips as he stood up.
“Wow Kibum! That was really awesome!” I laughed heartedly, ruffling the younger one’s fake hair as a hand landed softly on my arm. Jinki had this gently smile over his lips, and I couldn’t help but feel butterflies ruffling in my stomach as he slowly lowered his head to lay a faint kiss over my lips.
“You’re amazing Kibum, I loved your dance.” I BET YOU DID BRO! FO SHO!- ouch! What the heck Minho! It was an unanimous decision to ignore the junior, rolling our eyes as Minho shook Jonghyun to his senses, Return to your ethnic roots for Christ’s sake!
“Thank you baby. Now Taemin, I hope this demonstration helped you embrace the roll of a girl? I know it’s hard, but I’ve done it in several school performances so I’m quite used to it.” Taemin nodded, smiling brightly as he twisted a piece of hair between his fingers.
“I did!! Thank you soo much Kibum! I’m still nervous about the whole dancing thing but I’ll do my best.”
“Why don’t we look at your dancing skills now Taemin? Maybe Key can help you if you’re not good at something?” Jinki’s suggestion was pretty good, Minho already searching for the appropriate music. I settled down between a now quiet Jonghyun, patting his head as he mumbled something about Minho being such a player hater, and Jinki. The senior’s arm softly wrapped itself around my shoulders, making me sigh contently as I snuggled into his warmness. Giggling as he placed feathery kisses over my head, I paid attention to a now nervous Taemin as he settled in the center of the room, his eyes shifting nervously back and forth between his boyfriend and his spectators.
“Are you ready Taemin?” Minho’s deep voice boomed in the silence and a couple of breathes later the young junior nodded his head in response.
“I’m ready. Turn it on.”
----------------(Taemin’s POV)----------------
It’s been a long time. So long that at first I forgot how to start, how to unravel that once forgotten knowledge and use it to my advantage. The moment the music started playing in the room a part of my brain instantly disconnected; the part that controlled my self-consciousness.
My hands instantly flew to my hair the moment Chris Brown’s Run it ran through my ears, slowly rolling my head in a circular motion. I tuned everything out, my friends, my boyfriend, this room, this school, my very existence. It was like jumping into a hole and traveling to the past, to the moment were dancing was the only way to vent my problems out. Blood started pumping furiously through my veins, traveling to every inch of my body and fueling my energy. Memories started flooding my mind, invading my body as I remembered how good it used to make me feel, how hot and how easy it had been to jump into that dance studio a couple of blocks from my house after school, slipping on a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants and just letting myself loose in the desolated studio. The dance instructor back then was a friend of my mother, letting me use his studio for free, and all those things summed up to me becoming addicted to this.
I couldn’t make myself face my friends, or my boyfriend for that matter, so I just closed my eyes and dropped down in one go, bending one leg and stretching the other one in one perfect line to the side, thanking Key for giving me flats instead of high heels. Quickly my leg followed the other one in the bending position, and with a simple body roll I slowly made my body stood up, hips shaking with the beat. It all felt so familiar and so right that a smile started tugging my lips, arms moving on their own and feet following the rhythm.
Somewhere in the middle of the dance I found myself thinking why I let this go. Why I succumbed to fear and left my true passion. That night that a classmate saw me entering the dance studio he didn’t even give it a second a thought and hurried himself home to post the news in the school’s bulletin board. News traveled fast, and my hell became my nightmare from then on. I resented dancing then, telling myself I would never be put in that position ever again. I submerged myself in my studies and my grades even more, scaring my mother at some point as she watched her son consume himself in geometry books and science. She was the one that told me about the newspaper add, the one that eagerly talked me into taking Burbank’s scholarship test, pushing me further away from my love. Until now, I don’t know if I should thank her…
Grinning my hips in perfect synchronization, I slid my body to the floor, feeling the coldness of the floor under my stomach as I swiftly rolled on my back, feeling the skirt riding up as I swiftly grinded my hips in the air, pulling myself up moments later just to whip my hair to the side, sweat making the black strands of synthetic hair stick to my neck.
With my skirt all ride up, the small frilly gray vest sticking to my figure and hair clinging to my neck and forehead, I dared to say I felt happy. It was like returning home from a long extenuating trip. The rhythm seeped through my skin, vibrating over my bones solidly with each beat. The music was over too soon, finishing with a solid pump as my body slowly stopped its sinuous moves. All the way my eyes had been closed, afraid of what their reactions might be. Would Kibum feel cheated? Minho, Jonghyun and Jinki? Biting my lips, I tried not to think too bad about them, knowing they were the best of friends, simply friends anyone would wish to have. Slowly, my eyes fluttered in an indecisive manner, opening up just to stare blankly at the picture in front.
“Uhh guys?”
“Go get more tissues Taemin!! Your boyfriend is about to die from a huge blood lost.” Numbly, I hurriedly made my way to my backpack, grabbing a bag of tissues before turning around and heading to the helpless senior. Squeaking in surprise at the amount of blood trailing over his hand, I hurried to Minho’s side, freaked out by the way he was clutching a soaked tissue over his bloodied nose.
“Oh my God!! Minho are you okay??” In any other situation, I would’ve giggled by the way Minho blushed in embarrassment. His shoulder’s were hunched over in shame, face as red as a cherry as Jonghyun laughed his ass off while replacing the bloodied Kleenex with a new one.
“I’m okay baby, I’m just shocked… yo-you dance very well.” His words got all chocked up in the end, and I couldn’t help but caress his cheek as a silent apology. I should’ve held back a little, to not surprise them so much…
“Taemin… I-I.. I don’t even know what to say…” Kibum’s voice made me flinch in surprise. I caught the perplexed look in the junior’s eyes, mimicking perfectly his boyfriend’s baffled expression. Seeing the hopeless expression in the junior’s face made guilt writhe inside me, eating everything in its way. Maybe I should’ve said something… or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, as they would’ve been disgusted and upset anyways. Lowering my head, I started hating the silence, the guilt and the imminent things to come.
“Since when Taeminnie?” I quietly stared at Jonghyun, his curious eyes urging me to response.
“B-back at my other school, I used to be constantly picked on and made fun of since middle school… the only way I could keep myself sane was dancing. I’ve been doing it since I remember… one day one of my classmates found out about my dancing sessions that took place at this studio close to my house and the bullying became worst, so I just decided to quit and focus on my studies…”
The room was silent, dead. Closing my eyes, I counted to ten, wanting to be sucked by some spontaneous black hole and transported directly to my parallel life were I would be a superhero saving kids from stuck up buttholes. Stifling my laughter at my silly imagination, I remembered this wasn’t the time or place to be laughing about parallel universes, and that put an instant pout in my face.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Shrugging helplessly, I softly sighed in defeat, feeling utterly miserable.
“I thought it wasn’t that important… I’m sorry… it’s okay if you think I’m a hypocrite for keeping this a secret an-”
“Are you kidding me? Taemin you were fucking perfect!!! Shaking your hips like a pro and giving Minho a nosebleed!! Seriously like a pro dude!”
Laughing, I felt grateful for the brunette’s positive feedback. Kibum was silent through the whole speech and outburst, and I was about to open my mouth and say something when he quickly stood up, excusing himself as he swiftly walked out of the room. I wasn’t the only one surprised by the attitude, Jjong instantly falling silent while starting at the room his very best friend had walked out off. The way Key had coldly excused himself, not even glancing at my way as he stomped out of the room was simple unsettleling, and feeling like the worst friend ever my eyes started watering, the saltiness prickling my eyes as the idea of Kibum hating me started circling my head. Minho quietly stood up, surrounding me with his arms as a soft sob escaped my lips.
“Don’t worry Taemin… Key is just upset that kept this all to yourself, he’s not mad at you or anything.” Jonghyun’s words gave me no peace as there was some sort of uncertainty in his voice, making me sob harder as I fisted my hands over the senior’s vest, hiccupping between the I love you Minho whispered over my head. Jinki was nowhere to be found, obviously having followed Kibum outside. Wiping my tears away, I couldn’t help but stare at the closed door, just wanting Kibum to waltz in with that huge smile over his face, hugging all this pointless drama away.
The thought of the junior being mad at me, or simply hating me was too much. Key had been the first person that talked to me, the first one that saw past my simple clothes, my economic background, and my obvious plainness, pushing all that aside to simply see me. He saw me, befriended me and stuck up for me when no one did. He was pretty much my first and dearest friend, my best friend above all, and I couldn’t believe I had upset him with my stupid secrets. Onew came in a few minutes later, sporting such a blank expression over his face that it ridiculously fueled my tears even more.
“Don’t cry Taemin, there’s no need to, really.” Shaking my head, I didn’t believe the senior’s words.
“-a true battle really, but I managed to sneak around some girls and bring a couple of hairclips to adjust your wig Taeminnie cause it kept moving throughout the dance. Oh! And put this shorts under your skirt, you don’t want horny assholes stalking you or somethi- … why is everyone looking at me like that?”
“K-kibum I’m s-sorry!” I didn’t wait for the junior to react before I flung myself across the room and into his arms. While I cried in his chest I didn’t catch the puzzled expression crossing his features as he mouthed to Jinki a quick What’s going on?
“What’s wrong Taeminnie, why are you crying?” His soft hands caressed my hair as I lifted my face soaked with tears. He was clearly confused by my behavior… or maybe he was just too mad to even talk about it.
“I’m sorry for keeping this as a secret. I-I wanted to tell you guys about this, but it has been so long since I danced so I thought it wasn’t that important, a-and I was really gonna tell you about it eventually b-but… I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Wait, Taemin I-“
“Come on Key! Give Minnie a break!! He said he didn’t mean to keep his dancing a secret, I know it’s a surprise and all but just give him your support okay?”
“I do support him!”
“Then why are you mad at him?” Exasperated, the junior puffed his cheeks cutely, pouting while Jinki chuckled beside us. I didn’t understand what was going on, clearly Key knew something that he wasn’t sharing, and judging by the way his boyfriend was finding the whole situation amusing it was obvious said male was into it as well. I quietly wiped my tears to listen to what he had to say…
“Yah! I’m not mad at him!! I have nothing to be mad about in the first place! I’ve known about his dancing skills since last week!”
I could tell my astonishment was shared with the other students in the room, eyes wide open and mouth gaping like a fish.
“Y-you- How- WHAT?” Kibum’s arms hugged me softly as he laughed at our complete surprise. By the way Jinki was smiling to the while situation I could tell he already knew about this. Jonghyun was as surprised as I was, and Minho clearly didn’t find the logic in all this.
“Key!! What the heck! How come you knew about Taeminnie being a sexy dance machine and didn’t even tell me!!” Jjong’s whine pulled me out of my stupor, stepping out of Key’s embrace to properly stare at him throughout this whole confusion.
“Are you serious? You knew about my past?”
“Remember the slumber party we had last week? Well, while you were getting your stuff ready and Betty Crocker here was baking the afternoon away with your mom,” He quickly pointed his thumb at the insulted junior, “I was able to get a glimpse of all those trophies you won while in middle school and the pictures of you dancing that were all over your living room.”
“Why didn’t you say anything though?” A soft smile curled itself across his lips, his hand caressing my cheek tenderly.
“I could tell right away that dancing had been a very important part of your life while growing up, and that there must’ve been a pretty big reason behind your decision to give that up, so I waited for you to share that with us when the moment came up. I’m not mad at all Taeminnie, on the contrary, I’m happy to see you sharing with us such an important part of your life. I could tell by the trophies that you were quite good at it, but I was quite surprise at how good you really are!! I somehow feel like a proud dad.”
“I would go with proud mom Key … cause you certainly don’t look at your manliest right now.”
“Shut it Jonghyun!”
My heart swelled up with his words, his intentions. There was nothing but infinite care and gratitude towards the older one. I hugged him once more, burying my face in his chest as I mumbled endless thank you. Key laughed softly, rubbing my back tenderly while letting me now it was okay. I truly meant to tell them about my past, about a past were I was just a normal kid loving to dance, that I had never been the nerd everyone portrayed me as. I had been tempted the first day at Burbank to enroll in Key’s dance crew, feeling a searing longing crawling over my chest as the junior’s eyes sparkled while talking about his liking towards dancing. Did I regret letting go so easily of my passion? Of course, but at the same time I was happy, cause I had been able to find another passion as well. Chemistry might be boring to some, tedious to others, but I found it simply fascinating. And after all, Chemistry was what brought Minho and I together, so I’m forever grateful to that science. Dancing will always bring a smile and warm memories, as it will stay in my heart till I die. Its part of who I am, complementing me into a whole, and denying it would be like denying myself.
“Thank you guys so much for understanding. Even though I love dancing very much, and always will, I’m content with how things are. I’m pretty much infatuated with Chemistry as well as gardening, so my dancing background will simply be a sweet memory.”
Kibum nodded in agreement, kissing my hair in reassurance. Minho’s hand slipped in mind, squeezing it softly before lifting it up and placing a tender kiss over the pulse. I felt loved in those moments, finally fitting in into something I never thought I would. It was like becoming part of the same thing, and now I could say I was part of them, part of this group and this life. I didn’t feel so alone anymore, so out of place and so underrated.
“You don’t have to feel like we’ll judge you for your past Taemin. We all love you and support you okay? Always.” Minho’s words pulled the strings of my heart, making me smile wildly while kissing the tall senior whole-heartedly. From the sidelines I could catch Kibum hugging Jinki, eyeing us with care and affection as the senior nodded in acceptance to the silent promise. Jonghyun was sniffing beside them, wailing about how he loved happy endings.
“Yeah Taemin, you could pretty much be a pimp rolling on the streets at the wee hours of the night recruiting willing strippers and we would’ve accepted you anyways.” Everyone glared silently at the brunette, Kibum kicking him in the butt for ruining the moment, but despite the silliness, I appreciated the thought.
“Thank you guys really. Now I know that despite my past and all, you are all willing to accept it and understand.” I couldn’t help myself, letting my eyes land on the senior silently watching the whole scene. Jinki was staring at me intently, catching the meaning behind my words. His shoulders visibly stiffened, flinching when Kibum turned to the side just to smile and peck him on the cheek. There was a torn expression on his face, like debating with himself, and even though I felt bad for making him remember his problematic past, I was still waiting for him to tell Kibum about his past marriage. Key was a very understanding human being, beautiful from the inside out, and seeing how much love and affection the junior exuded while being by Jinki’s side, I was certain he would accept Jinki’s past with caring arms.
“Of course baby, that’s what friends do.” Giving my tall boyfriend a brief kiss, I quickly broke eye contact with the senior, letting the words sink in while giving him a break. He had a lot to think about, Minho already urging the boy to tell his boyfriend about his tumultuous past for days now.
“I guess everyone agrees that Taemin being one hell of a dancer is a huge plus to our plan. No one is gonna suspect that our gorgeous nerdy baby is actually sin incarnated, so we can pretty much consider this plan a success.”
Smiling, I started discussing with Kibum the weak points of my dancing, the junior giving advices on how to feminize some moves and praising highly my fluid movements. Minho and Jinki started moping about their boyfriends being too hot to be considerate legal, already plotting to burn alive the entire male population of Burbank while Jonghyun clung over his best friend’s back snooping in on our conversation. Now that Kibum knew all about my past I felt at ease, like a heavy weight had been lifted from my chest. It was like we were connected in a whole new level, sharing experiences that united us in a way. We interchanged tips, showing our moves and pointing out flaws. Key had a huge smile over his face as he showed me his chest pump, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I showed him my popping technique.
“Hey guys! Why don’t you dance something together! In fifteen minutes the dance members are gonna be crowding the studio and all so why don’t you take this last few minutes to share a song?”
Jonghyun’s idea sounded pretty awesome, and as Key kissed his best friend’s cheek while telling him how brilliant he was, I quickly told Minho to search something Key and I could dance to. Minutes later the heavy beats of Timbaland’s Bounce started blasting in the room, and in cue, my body synchronized itself perfectly with Kibum’s, like two halves of a whole.
It was amazing how tuned our moves were, flowing smoothly through the beats and the rhythm. From my peripheral vision I caught sight of Key, watching the way his feline eyes captivated everyone. I wanted to be able to have that appeal, that something that made Jinki’s face boil red. Swiftly I directed my eyes towards the tall senior watching our performance intently by the wall, arms crossed over his chest as his chocolate eyes followed my every move. I couldn’t think of anything else but Minho, loving the way my body moved to the switch of his eyes. In unison, we dropped to the floor, swaying our arm to the side while rolling our bodies back up.
“Oh shit mamasitas!! Move those hips!!! Yeah like that! Papi Jonghyun likes it!” I couldn’t help laughing at that, breaking eye contact with Minho as Key was tempted to throw his abandoned high heels at him.
We were so engrossed in our own world that we didn’t noticed or hear the door cracked open, or the way ten pairs of eyes widened at the sight that greeted them inside, astonished by the performance taking place in the dance studio. It was like Kibum and I had been dancing for years, partners from day one. The junior knew what I was gonna do seconds before performing the same movement, and somehow I was able to follow his quick moves, popping my hip to the side as he slipped his leg between mine just to grind himself into me, skirts riding up with the movement.
I tried not to laugh at the way Jinki was biting his lip, face inhumanly red as Minho was subtly fanning himself from afar. Suddenly Key turned around, pressing himself flush against my front, my hands instantly flying to grasp his hips. I could catch a little bit of Minho and Jinki’s breath, but paid no mind as we started rolling together, turning around minutes later to finish as one.
“Holy fuck… Key is that you?”
I recognized right away the voice of the junior Kibum ran into a couple of days ago. Chansung slowly stepped inside the studio, followed by his baffled team members. They were all blushing and nervously avoiding eye contact with the fuming seniors now possessively at our side. Mingo stepped in front of me, not wanting the dancers to take a good look at myself in fear of being exposed. Jinki was simply staying by the junior’s side, his arm twitching furiously with the thought of wrapping it around his boyfriend’s waist. Jonghyun was simply leaning against the wall, smirking at the whole situation.
“Uh yeah, it’s me. Sorry I missed the practice guys, but I have something to tell you. I’m not gonna be able to participate with you on the show.”
Surprise fell on the faces of the boys awkwardly dressed like drag queens, clearly confused by the sudden news. All eyes fell on me suddenly, making me blush as I hid myself behind Minho, the senior covering me with his body as the boys started approaching us slowly.
“Oh that’s a shame… but we understand, I mean, who would pass the opportunity to dance with… with such a great dancer.” Chansung blushed suddenly, nervously smiling as I popped my head out from Minho’s arms, blinking furiously at the way all the dancers blushed in unison.
“What? No, I’m not dancing at al-“ Nobody paid attention the Kibum’s speech unfortunately, all eyes centered in me as curiosity hung heavily in the air.
“You dance really, like REALLY well, just as Key. I believe we haven’t met before?” I bit my lip, uncertain by the sudden situation. This was part of the plan, one screw up and the whole plan would fall at our feet. Minho slowly turned his head sideways, nodding me to go ahead and answer. Coughing a few times to prepare my voice, I quickly stepped away from Minho’s shelter.
“My name is Lee Taeyeon. I-I’m Taemin’s twin sister.” Shock was pretty clear in everyone’s eyes, and as I fidgeted nervously, fingering the hem of my vest to distract myself, I tried to avoid the stares and to tune out all the whispers. Somehow it felt like the first day in Burbank all over again, but it was just a onetime thing only so I had to suck it up and play my part.
“Y-you’re Lee Taemin’s twin?? Holy shi- uhh nice to meet you. My name is Jokwon…” In cue all the dancers started greeting me at once, some blushing and stuttering while the others pretty much put themselves out as pretty much available to anything. From the corner of my eyes I could tell Minho was dying to smack all the hands furiously fighting to shake mine, and I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the whole thing. Kibum was too busy dismissing the drooling seniors silently gawking at him from afar to even acknowledge this, and Jinki was too busy giving murderous glares to the oblivious students.
“Aren’t you boys supposed to be getting ready for your performance? It’s already 5 o’ clock.” Everyone was instantly snapped out of their bubble, making me sigh in relief as I hugged Jonghyun with my dear life, the brunette slipping an arm around me to protect me from prying eyes. He was the savior of the day for sure.
“Right!! Come on everyone!! Grab your wigs and let’s head to the theater! We’ll see you guys later!! Taeyeon, it was nice meeting you! We’ll be looking forward to your performance with Key tonight!”
I couldn’t do anything but stare at the boys scurrying out of the room while pulling their wigs on, Kibum clearly too shocked to even utter a word. Our boyfriends were just mute; eyes wide open as our plan had turned upside down into a whole new level. Jonghyun shook his head, finding the whole thing amusing. I wondered what made those boys think that I was gonna be performing with Key at the talent show, and suddenly it dawned on me the raw reality. Everyone was now expecting me to dance with Key… tonight… at the talent show… in front of everyone…. in front of Yuri and her sick friends…
“Well shit, I guess we’re in troubles my peers.” Big troubles.
------------------(Key’s POV)-------------------
“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God! OH MY GOD! Jonghyun what the hell are we gonna do!!!”
“Calm down Key, come on breathe with me.” I quickly sucked a lungful of air, feeling like a pregnant lady as the brunette mimicked the breathings with me. Students were piled up at the vast backstage, nervously reciting their numbers as parents and students started filing in the vast audience. Burbank was the only private institution in the country that had a proscenium theater. The beautiful structure rose up at the left wing of the campus, a few miles away from the three story building housing Burbank’s library with its own terrace were students could practice yoga freely.
The government often booked the theater for their yearly conferences and auctions, and students from all ages took great pride in the million worth building. Deep shades of ochre and gold tainted the walls, seats exquisitely made of a dark silky texture with embroidered edges. The stage was brightly illuminated by reflectors dangling from all directions, the polished wooden floor shinning as event coordinators placed the last few touches to the set. The blood red curtains were drawn, preventing the spectators to catch a glimpse of the expensive decorations.
Burbank’s talent show was very well known across the country, people paying high prices to get tickets to see the popular performances. As the institution was known for its excellent arts and sports background, it was expected to see such appeal from the public and the curious eyes of the media. All three levels of the theater were immediately occupied by people from all around the country, leaving the center of the audience to students and family members. Everyone performing had a huge burden in their shoulders, since this was somehow like a one shot opportunity; to be a failure or to rise above the rest.
Jonghyun shushed me quietly, rubbing my back as I rested my forehead against his shoulder. Taemin was probably staying hidden with Minho at some dark corner at the desolated part of the backstage, and Jinki was currently rehearsing the piano piece Jonghyun was gonna be singing, as the senior agreed to accompany Jjong in his solo debut. And here I was, stuck with my nerves while my best friend tried to assured me everything would be alright. I wasn’t actually nervous for myself, as I was pretty much used to participating in this sort of things, but I was dead worried about Taemin, fearing for the worst. Anything could happen, and I still couldn’t believe that Chansung would be so dense to believe that I had missed today’s rehearsal because I was planning to dance with Taemin’s twin sister.
“Fuck you Chansung…” Jonghyun laughed, kissing my head as I kept whining about my failed dance partner.
Between my whines and Jonghyun’s comforting words, I couldn’t help hearing a conversation taking place at a corner of the darkened space. Turning sideways, I realized it were the girls of the gymnastics team the ones happily discussing my love life in public, oblivious to my stare and my presence. I felt something freeze inside me, all traces of worry gone as my eyes instantly darkened into black slits. Jonghyun felt the sudden change in me, eyeing me with worry before directing his attention the crowd of girls gossiping the night away.
“I knew the moment those two kissed by the entrance that they weren’t together, I mean, seriously! Would you kiss your boyfriend like that in front of EVERONE? Like, I don’t think so.”
“Totally! I mean, Kibum is the hottest boy ever! And Jinki is like a god, but those two are soooo not meant to be!!”
“Girl please, you know Jinki is into girls! I saw the way he was eyeing me in the soccer match yesterday while we were cheering on Dream Team! His eyes were all over me!”
“Okay you’re seriously delusional Lizzy… you think Lee Jinki would even so much as glance your way? Maybe he would notice my charms, but obviously not yours.”
“The chances of him noticing you are way lower Seungyeon…”
“Hey!! That’s mean!! … but true.”
“Stop being so butthurt girls, neither Jinki nor Key would pay attention to any of you. Jinki’s ex girlfriend was a top model, a freaking Russian top model and Key pretty much doesn’t mingle with anyone, just hottie Jonghyun, and he’s obviously one to go for someone sexy and stylish so we can rest in peace that those two are just using this fake relationship as propaganda for their photography contest.”
“True that.”
“Yeah CL, you’re right.”
Jonghyung tried to stop me, but I was already on my way, enraged in the thought of sending those girls to hell. This was exactly why I didn’t mingle with my fellow Burbank students, with my classmates, with no one in particular. It was because of this sick environment filled with gossips and lies that I learnt to hate this school and this people. As I approached the group of girls, everyone started falling silent, telling by my darkened expression that problem was on its way.
“Isn’t it shady though? To pretend to go out in order to get votes in a contest?” The girl named Seungyeon declared, taking a quick look at her fingernails as the girls nodded in agreement, engaging in another heated discussion.
“You’re so right! Kibum is such a shady guy!! And Jinki too!” My fake girly voice went unnoticed as the girls where furiously checking their outfits, not paying attention to the new addition of their group.
“Tell me about it!! It’s clearly obvious that hot guys are not meant to be saints.” Snorting, I fell silent, waiting for them acknowledge my presence. Right away I caught the queen of the group, with her shiny hair and her manicured nails. She was paying too much attention to her short skirt that she didn’t realize I was just one step to choke her to death.
“Who the fuck do you think you are girl?” They were quick to catch the change of voice, as it was hoarse and quiet in contrast to their annoying pitchy one. The gasps were loud in the silent room, people witnessing this small incident with fear, and somehow I wanted them to see this, I wanted them to hear this cause I wasn’t gonna be taking much of their crap any longer. The girl named Seungyeon instantly paled, shaking in fear of being caught. The other girls were deadly silent, staring wide eyes as I sneered in their direction. I was known for being cold and meticulous, everything but friendly aside of the few people I was closed with, and this right now was proof of it.
“K-key, we-we were just t-talking nonsense, nothing m-more.” Slowly a smirk started forming in my face, dark and malicious as I approached the girl I’ve seen around section A before. I was drawn to the girl at the center of the circle, not knowing what it was that enticed me to inflict authority on her.
CL was known for her fierceness as well as her fashion sense, girls idolizing the junior and copying her style right off the bat. She was actually pretty good in her fashion sense, having caught a glance of her designs while passing one day by the fashion design class. Slowly I started approaching the scared girl, backing her up against the wall as her friends shrieked in disbelief. She was visibly shaking, utterly astonished that Kibum, Kim Kibum was trapping her against the wall. Face to face with the gossiping queen, I lowered my face to her level, my hot breath puffing over her parted lips. Her hands were trembling helplessly at her side, probably wanting to sneak around my chest to push me away.
“I don’t wanna hear gossip coming out of that ugly mouth of yours ever again.” My hands traveled all the way to each side of her head, locking her in place as her eyes widened at the exchange. My nose was barely bumping against hers, feline eyes glaring daggers at the junior too shocked to even utter a single word.
“By Monday all rumors about my relationship with Jinki being fake have to be gone and forgotten. I’m not joking girl.” She quickly nodded, fearing the consequences flashing through my eyes.
“Kibum I-“
“Don’t. Only people I actually like get to call me by my name. I’m Key for you, and for all of you people that never fail to disgust me.”
I quietly pulled myself away, watching the way the shocked girl slid all the way to the floor. Her friends quickly surrounded her, ushering her to tell them what was wrong, but she was just staring dead into my eyes, unable to break eye contact. We stared at each other for a while, trapped in what seemed to be a muted agreement. CL had this unique beauty, exotic honey colored eyes, tanned skin and bronze hair. Long straight hair fell over her shoulders, pooling at her lower back, and somehow between our staring I realized in fact she was beautiful. I noticed right away I was starting to look like a freak, blushing in awkwardness before turning around, not catching the way her eyes widened in surprise, or the way her lips twitched into a mischievous smile for a millisecond before returning to her shocked state.
“Show is over.” Like déjàvu, people scrammed and dispersed, returning to their previous activities. Making my way towards the brunette leaning against the wall, I took a deep breath and slumped by his side, feeling tired and fed up.
“Well, that was interesting.” Groaning, I rested my head against the broad shoulder, closing my eyes while trying to forget about the whole incident.
“Tell me about it… this people are seriously sick Jjong, for real.” Hearing the deep laughter at my side, I couldn’t help but laugh as well, finding the whole situation childish and ridiculous.
“I dunno what was more amusing though; the fact that you were all over the girl’s face probably making her pee in fear or the fact that you were telling those girls off while being dressed up as a girl as well.”
Rolling my eyes, I bumped his shoulder playfully, making the junior laugh. The sleek voice coming from the speakers signaled that the first call was being made, making everyone cringe nervously. The incident was forgotten in seconds, people to busy with freaking out to think about the little discussion. Fixing Jonghyun’s tuxedo while the brunette warmed up his vocals, I caught sight of Minho entering the backstage with a nervous Taemin in tow. All eyes fell on the cute junior, eyeing curiously the way his hand was interlocked with the senior.
“Hey guys, took you long enough! The first call was just announced.” Blushing, Taemin explained how they went to practice one more time at the studio, earning a pair of whistles and insinuating comments from the perverted junior. An event coordinator suddenly approached us, clipboard in hand as she started handing us our name tags.
“Kim Jonghyun, you’re gonna be first with Lee Jinki. I was told Kim Kibum was performing a duet with…?” The event coordinator stared curiously at the fidgeting girl at my side, the woman taking the microphone off her ear to catch the soft words directed at her way.
“T-Taeyeon, Lee Taeyeon. I’m Lee Taemin’s twin sister.” A couple of heads turned in our direction, some people gasping while others started murmuring and whispering their disbelief. The coordinator swiftly nodded in agreement, writing the name on her clipboard while telling us once again the order we were gonna be performing, our duet coming as the fourth act. Nervously, I slid an arm over the boy, watching the way Taemin anxiously avoided the stares directed at his way. Minutes later, Minho pulled Taemin towards him, enveloping him with his arms dust earning him a couple of puzzled expressions from the audience. I could read the words Two-timer already forming in everyone’s forehead.
“Alright Jonghyun, I arranged a couple of notes from the original so it could match the range of your voice, but you gotta pay attention to the intro in other to jump in at the right time.”
Hearing Jinki’s voice was like music to my ears after the mess with those girls, sighing in relief as I clung to my boyfriend like my life depended on it. Puzzled, Jinki awkwardly wrapped his arms around my waist, staring between Jonghyun and the couple beside us too engrossed in their embrace to care about the world. The senior stared blankly at his best friend hugging tightly the shaking girl in his arms, whispering comforting words over the junior’s head, his eyes slowly landing on me next as I was glaring daggers at the girls now cowering at the corner of the room, some still fussing over the still shocked CL. Sighing, he turned his attention towards Jonghyun, lifting an eyebrow as said male was whistling happily by the wall.
“Care to explain why my best friend is comforting his hysteric boyfriend who’s mumbling Oh my God Yuri is gonna kill me while mine is all cocooned in my arms, glaring daggers at some unknown girls at the corner?” Jonghyun laughed, playfully slapping Jinki’s arm as he started making his way towards their chorus teacher making signals all the way across the room in order to rehearse Jonghyun’s solo one more time.
“My bro, you missed EVERYTHING! Fo sho! But don’t worry though, follow my girl gaga and Just dance! Gonna be okay! Da-doo-doo-doo, JUST DANCE!!”
“Thanks, now everything is magically explained.”
“Yo, yo, yo, don’t be hatin cus you ain’t fly and smart like me. I’m gonna roll now homies, peace out! ”
“JONGHYUN! YOU’RE FUCKING KOREAN!”
Part II (13/02)
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Are you guys excited about part two??? hmmm hope you're in for some clubbing, Burbank style!! :D