Far From a Fairytale

Chapter Thirty-Six~ Dance with the Real Me

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 💎 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"Does it... does it bother you?" He questioned, Kareena's short answer and changed demeanour made him nervous.

"Huh? Why on earth would something like that bother me?" Kareena furrowed her brows as she wondered aloud. Before he could answer, Kareena opened her mouth. "Whether or not you are part of the Park family is not something I care about. I care about you, Minho." She placed a single finger over the top of the clothing on his chest. "Just you. I don't care about your family, your background, your reputation- nothing. Just you." She told him, letting the rest of her hand lay over his chest.

"But aren't those the things that make me who I am?" Minho questioned awkwardly. If those things didn't matter to her, what was left?

Kareena only let out a small giggle. "Of course not. The things that make you: are the genuine heart beating in your chest and the brilliant mind resting in your head." Her matter-of-fact tone made him smile at her in belief. "All right, I'll be right back, then we can decide on what to do." She said, letting her hand fall from his shirt before walking down the hall. Minho felt the warmth on his chest fade when she dropped her hand, he found himself missing her touch.

It was a minute before she returned, as she sat down beside him, Minho noticed the manicure kit she put on the floor in front of them. "My nails are so gross. I'm gonna fix them." She announced, stretching out her fingers for them both to see.

With her focus on cleaning and filing her nails, a thought bounced around the back of her mind. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Minho hummed a confused response as he took his eyes off of the process of her cleaning her nails, and looked at her. "You said, you were working up the courage to tell me something. I didn't think you came all this way to tell me why you needed courage to talk to me?" She posed the end of her sentence as a question, prompting him to tell her more.

"Oh, that... yeah, I guess I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay. Everything that happened last night was hell- and then you had midterms this morning. Seems like a lot to go through in a short period." Minho said. It was the long and less embarrassing version of saying, 'I care about you and I was worried out of my mind.'

Meeting his eyes directly, she spoke, "You have nothing to worry about. My life would have been a lot worse, had it not been for you. And I don't just mean in this situation." She said, a slight pink covering her cheeks. "I like you, Minho. You've made my life a lot better. I'm glad you made me that promise back at the cafe." She told him, leaning her frame against his side.

Minho enjoyed hearing Kareena say that. It was something no one had ever told him. And yet, there was a bitter taste behind his smile. He longed to hear those words-for Kareena to accept him-but when it finally happened, it was no longer in the way Minho wanted to hear it.

Her friendship was great, but was it really what he wanted now?

Wanting to change the subject, Minho said the first thing that came to mind, something he didn't expect to bring up.

"Did she really bully you?"

Kareena stopped unscrewing the lid to her base nail polish. The question caused her heart to pound. Continuing to look down at the clear liquid, she answered. "Believe it or not, we used to be best friends." Minho looked at her with furrowed brows and round eyes, Kareena, however, still refused to look up. "It was seventh-grade science fair, a pivotal time for every preteen at Starsway Public School. I never paid attention to relationships or boys, or any of that, Serafina was the opposite. We both had trouble at home-I think that's how we bonded-but we had different... outlets. Serafina got guys and I got... well, everything else; grades, friends, clubs- that sorta stuff. Serafina had this huge crush on Tommy, one that she told me about. Tommy and I... we were friends, I found him cute at the time. But, I didn't know him well enough to like-like him. So, even though my feelings grew, I shut them down because I knew Serafina liked him. Then the science fair came along, one of the many side competitions we had was best dressed. Serafina came in this really gorgeous outfit with her makeup and hair done all beautifully. I was chatting with Tommy most of the day- let's be honest I suck at science and was too afraid to do my experiment. Serafina saw us. The thing is, with almost any guy I talk to, Serafina thinks I'm being flirty-she teased me about it constantly-so when she saw me talking with him then, plus all the other times, she kinda just... exploded. She went on to say how we were never really friends, she thinks my niceness is fake to get guys to like me, oh, and she called me the school slut." Kareena swallowed her sadness and instead let out a short 'ha'.