Laughter went around the table as I listened in on their conversation. I noticed myself, Lei was quiet the entire time since we arrived at the restaurant. From across the table he ate quietly.

"I still think it's funny," Ximen was saying.

"This place hasn't changed. But you guys... After three years, you're no longer high school students, but university students now," Jing spoke as she looked towards Meizuo, Ximen, and Daoming Si. Lei sat beside her and I between both Meizuo and Jing. "Luckily, you guys haven't changed. I'm Glad."

"Hey," Daoming Si said with a smile on his face. I could tell just about everyone here had plenty of wine tonight. "The five of us grew up together," He spoke looking to each of his friends. He of course skipped over me, because I was never a part of the group. "You can say we're childhood friends." The group shared a laugh and I looked towards Lei looking down towards his plate.

"Si hasn't changed. You're still the jokester."

"You're wrong. I'm more amazing now." Daoming Si goes into a bit of talk about his investment and paying for his own tuition fees. Then the two talked a bit about his sister before Ximen spoke up.

"Jing, don't worry about that," Ximen said. "There's a girl who's got all his attention now. Her name is..."

"Dong..." Meizuo participates.

"You two," Daoming Si said playfully and wrapped his arms around Meizuo and Ximen bringing them close. "You can't compare her to my sister. My sister is out of her league." Daoming Si let out a sigh as most of them take their wine glasses to take a sip. Ximen looked towards Lei curiously.

"Lei," Ximen spoke. "Why are you so quiet?" I looked towards him as he looked up to his friends.

"Yeah," Meizuo agreed. "You're even more quiet with Jing around."

"I know. He's always been this way. He becomes really quiet whenever he's happy."

"He doesn't say a word, but his heart beats really fast." Meizuo, Ximen, and Jing shared a laugh. "Lei will never change," Meizuo spoke with a half drunken smile on his face. They continue back and forth before making a toast for Lei. I quietly joined my glass when Lei speaks up for the first time tonight.

"I'm not!" Lei said in a tone that made everyone look towards him.

"Lei?" Jing asked softly. "What's the matter?" Lei turned towards Jing with a bothered expression. After sitting here this evening, I could easily tell he's into her.

"Jing, why did you take those vulgar photos? That's not like you at all." Here they seemed like a couple. Looking at Jing from beside me, she looked down towards the table with a faint smile. Ximen turned to the other guys.

"Is Lei acting like he's jealous?" Ximen asked. Jing says how she liked them before asking Lei did he not like them. Him denying that he did, she mentioned this was why she liked him before leaning towards him to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Wow!" The whole group said in unison. Each of them asked for a kiss and I looked down.

It was difficult to join in when they talked about memories and remembering times that I was never a part of. Lei took a sip of his wine. I fiddled with my fingers, because I at the moment felt that I did not belong here. I felt out of place. I felt I needed a bit of air for just a moment.

I excused myself by standing and everyone looked up towards me. Even Lei looked towards me in confusion. I never liked being the center of attention when it wasn't on the stage. I apologized and told them I needed a bit of air. I denied their concern of needing one of them to go with me. I excused myself once more before leaving for fresh air and to breathe.

Walking out of the onto the balcony, I inhaled deeply before exhaling. It felt good to be standing after sitting for quite so long. I felt tired starting my day very early. I leaned against the brick building, happy there was a balcony. I looked out into the view and smiled to myself. When we leave here, I have to remind myself to take the keys from Ximen. I knew he had quite a lot of wine to drink like everyone else had. The sound of the door opened a few feet away from me and I looked towards that direction to see Lei. He walked his way towards me and I returned and looked at the skyline. From beside me, Lei leaned against the building before looking towards me.

"You've been quiet tonight," Lei spoke through the silence.

"You were just as quiet," I answered softly.

"You haven't touched your glass of wine tonight."

"I'm not drinking tonight." Lei seemed to be quite observant with my actions tonight. I thought everyone would have been in their own state of mind after their second glass. "Why are you questioning me?" I sigh tiredly and turned towards him to see him looking ahead like I had been before turning to face me. "Shouldn't you go back in there before Jing worries about where you are?"

"I want to make sure I ask you if you are okay after everything that has happened today? I know you haven't talked much with Ximen or Meizuo in private, because Jing is here."

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll talk to Ximen or Meizuo tomorrow," I mumbled wondering why he suddenly is interested in caring for me.

"Was Ah Si the one who gave you a hard time this morning?"

"Why does it matter?"

"How come you haven't told Ximen and Meizuo by calling him out?"

"Why do you care Lei?"

"Why did you avoid the question this morning?"

"I thought you did not concern yourself with other people's business."

"You are part of my concern Faye." He looked away from me to look at the sky. My mouth parts and my heart raced from hearing those words. I wasn't sure if I should feel this way or if he meant it in a way that I could be a problem? Before I could ask, he leaned away from the wall and took a step towards me where I backed into the corner of the building. He had his right arm blocking my way from escaping. Our proximity was close to each other and I felt like getting lost in his eyes. "You're Ximen's best friend and I feel responsible to protect you when he or Meizuo isn't around. I've noticed the glares Ah Si gives you when we're together or your behavior when he is around. According to Ximen, there is a bad history between you and Ah Si."

"History, I want to stay away from Lei. Leave it alone and don't ask questions," I asked quietly and my eyes lowered from his intense stare. I could smell the wine from his breath. It happened to be the same one that I was offered. "How can you ignore me most of the day and care at the same time?" I ask lightly. There was a pause and I let out a sigh tempted to kiss him. What is wrong with me? His mouth part slightly and I let out a shaky breath. For one moment it would be nice if I wasn't acting like a hormonal girl with needs.

"You want to kiss me?" He questioned. Did I really say that out loud? I felt heat rushing to my cheeks as I made eye contact with him.

"I-I..." Suddenly I'm nervous around him. He leans forward until our foreheads touch. He closed his eyes for a moment and he brought a hand to my cheek. A tingling feeling courses me and I let out a small gasp feeling the sudden bubbly feeling that I've only noticed when I am around him. What is he doing to me? He leaned forward and I shut my eyes as I felt his lips being placed on mine.

The small fist of my hand that held tightly before loosened. My mind felt like swirling with my emotions and the uttermost bliss ran through me as he began kissing me. His soft and gentle touch made me melt and forget the things he has done or said in the past few days. My arms reached for his shoulders to wrap around him and bring him closer than he already was. I felt his smile in our kiss and I returned the gesture.

After a few minutes of his touch, he slowly pulled away realizing I had to breathe. The tingling feeling was left on my lips and my mind was aching for more. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times as he leaned his forehead against mine once more. Our rigid breathing were unison and his eyes were shut as he savored our moment together.

"Faye?" He asked quietly after a few moments of hearing our breathing. If I could freeze this time in place, I wouldn't hesitate to do so. We would be in our perfect bubble and I'd feel okay with that.

"Y-yes?" I said quietly. Less audible than I had intended.

"I want you to know, this wasn't a mistake and I wanted to kiss you," Lei started off. He wanted to kiss me. The way he formatted his sentence made me question something was wrong.

"Is there something wrong?" Lei could tell there was a hint of worry in my tone, leaning away so we were just facing each other again. The atmosphere changed a bit now that we weren't as close.

"I..." he paused for a moment. It seemed he was trying to formulate his words before speaking them. "I've had a special liking towards you in the short time we've met." This wasn't the problem and this would make me happy, but there seemed to be something else as well. "But... I also love my best friend Jing... and she's someone special to my heart." That was the issue.

"Why did you kiss me if you love her?" I asked with a small voice. My chest felt a bit constricted, because I shouldn't have believed what was happening. My eyes began to water, because he is my first kiss and this is what was happening. Lei realized he was hurting my feelings for letting this happen. "Why would you kiss me when you want to be with Jing? You took my first kiss away from me, but you love Jing," I spoke painfully now. His eyes widened at the mention of my first kiss. Before he could respond, I pushed him back and went around him to make my way inside.

The first tears came through as I entered the interior. I wiped my cheeks and made my way back to the table. I had to walk around a glass wall to get back to the table. Once I walked around, Jing was the first to spot me and she let out a gasp alarming the three other boys. I slowly approached the table. Daoming Si of course showed no interest. It was Ximen and Meizuo who were very concerned.

"Faye?" Ximen asked. He came over to me and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "What happened?"

"I would really like to go home now," I breathed shakily. I heard sudden steps coming from behind and Ximen turned and frowned.

"What did you say to her?!" Ximen asked angrily. I turned to see Lei standing there. He was looking at him before glancing towards me with a look of guilt. Ximen went over to him and grabbed his shirt and I panicked slightly. I walked over to them and tried to pull Ximen away.

"Ximen, stop. Please," I pleaded hoping he wouldn't start a fight with him. I frantically looked towards Meizuo and pleaded for help. He quickly made his way over and separated the two. He took Ximen's shoulder and stared at him telling him to stop.

"We'll wait for you in the car Faye," Meizuo spoke and I nod. The two left without saying goodbye to everyone and I'm left with Lei standing in front of me. Jing and Daoming Si were the two left.

"You should take Jing home," I spoke lightly to him.

"Faye-" I shook my head and he stopped.

"I don't want to rehearse with you for the rest of this week. I need to practice on my own," I spoke softly wanting to distance myself for now. Before he could object, I went past him and out of the restaurant.

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