With Me

•2•

It surprises me when I arrive at Hakyeon's house. Krystal isn't home. Apparently she sent Hakyeon a message stating that she was studying with her best friend.

I think we can all tell that is a lie and she is with Hongbin. Hakyeon has remained quiet about the pair but we can tell that he is still confused.

We all are.

Krystal is a very pretty and smart person. She knows that Hongbin is part of the crew which bullies her brother and all of his friends.

"Did you bring your math books?" Jin asks me as I place my bag on the ground.

"Yeah" I unzip the backpack and pull out two thick text books which I chuck over at a seated Jin.

He is seated at Hakyeon's desk. Hakyeon sits with his legs crossed in his bed.

I sit next to Hakyeon and we all begin to work on the many sheets of paper before us.

"Was your mother okay?" Hakyeon asks me, his voice is tense. He is trying to stay calm and be his normal self but I can tell he is preparing to give Krystal an absolute roasting when she gets home.

"She's good. She gave me $20 for us to buy pizza or something" I tell them and Jin cheers silently.

"You love pizza that much?" Hakyeon laughs at him and Jin spins around in his chair.

"What? I wasn't listening. I just finished my homework so I only have to do Sanghyuk's then I'm done!"

"Great can you show it to us so we can copy it onto ours as well?" I ask him and he scoffs.

"You two are smart. Figure it out" he spins back around to face the desk once more.

Hakyeon and I look at each other and sigh briefly before starting our own sheets.

--

The smell of pizza is most welcome. We all leave Hakyeon's room and head into the kitchen where the smell is.

On the bench sits two large boxes of pizza for our dinner. We all happily dig in.

"I think I'm a professional at algebra now" Jin exclaims and Hakyeon and I chuckle.

"Only one year to go guys then we won't be seeing, Hongbin, Sanghyuk or Wonshik ever again" I state to try and enlighten the mood.

"Wonshik and Sanghyuk yes but we may be seeing Hongbin a lot" Hakyeon frowns and I place a hand on his shoulder.

"He may turn out to be alright. He mustn't be that bad if Krystal has stuck with him for this long" Jin tries to convince him.

"Please. I promise you all that if Hongbin is actually a nice guy then I will...I will.." Hakyeon pauses and I hurry to fill in the gap.

"You will hug him?"

"Yes. Oh my god I can see this happening" Jin grins which causes Hakyeon to laugh a bit as well.

"Can we eat dinner without talking about those guys? I'll lose my appetite."

--

The next day Wonshik acts as though nothing happened the day before.

He actually doesn't bother me until lunchtime. It's the first day in years that he has left us alone for the first four classes.

We are walking to our usual table when he grabs my arm and pulls me to a stop. He grabs me harshly and I nearly drop my lunch tray.

"What?" I snap at him. He glares down at me and takes the tray from my hands.

He places it on the closest table before I have the chance to react.