Counting on Stars // NCT Ten

Hear

Ten turned to face Byeol and she breathed out slowly. There was no fleeing anymore; he had caught her. She stared at the ground as she felt Ten's anger slowly boil up. Had she looked up, she'd notice his tight-set jaw and glaring, ice-cold eyes.

"Byeol, what is up with you today? You've been ignoring my calls, leaving me on read!" He started.

"... And?" Byeol asked simply. Ten's jaw dropped.

"And? AND?! And what the hell, Byeol?! Why are you doing that?"

She shrugged.

"What- Okay, fine, you don't want to talk to me. Maybe I've gotten too much? I don't know. But... but lying about being sick? And having your clip?"

"I wasn't lying." She said firmly.

"Then why-" Ten pulled out a shard of translucent plastic from his pocket, holding it up for her to see. "-is your clip in my hand and not in your hair? Why?"

She just looked away, and both knew she was caught in a lie.

"Byeol, why are you acting so... so strange? This isn't like you-"

"And how would you know that? Are you my boyfriend or something?" She snapped.

"No, I'm not. I don't think you want me to be."

"You're right about that."

Ten sighed exasperatedly. This conversation wasn't going anywhere.

"Why are you trying to withdraw from the talent show?" He asked finally.

"I need to focus in midterms. I still have lots to catch up on and it's hard to study so much with only one hand." She was good at saying lies firmly, but she wasn't good at making them sound like the truth. Ten wasn't buying the excuse, and Byeol knew. She shook her head and added, "I just don't want to be in the talent show anymore, sorry, but I just... can't."

I can't spend anymore time with you, she thought.

"Why, Byeol?! Don't I at least deserve a proper explanation?!" He shouted. "I spent the last month with you; I could've spent my time on something else if I knew you'd ditch me like this!"

"Yeah, because everything is about you, isn't it?" She shot back, also losing her patience.

"Oh, you're hilarious! It was never about me! It was always about you! I've been trying to help you get better at dancing and help you gain confidence to perform! And you liked it- don't even try to lie and tell me you didn't. You told me how long you've waited to find a friend like me! All of that can't change in a day, can it?!"

"I dunno, Ten, maybe it did!"

"No! It! Didn't! Stop lying to yourself!"

"Will you just-" Byeol sighed, glancing away for a second. "If my priorities changed, does that mean I did something wrong? Why are you yelling at me?!"

"Because I fucking care about you, Byeol!! If Johnny, o-or Yangyang, or even Jeno got hurt, I'd be concerned about them, too! If any of my other friends were acting strange, I'd ask them about it. Why do you think you're any different, Byeol? Because you're a girl? Because I've known you for only a month? Do you think any of that really matters to me?!" He paused, looking at her.

"I..." She was at a loss of words, trying to comprehend what he was saying. She frowned suddenly. "Did you say, if they got hurt?"

Ten hesitated... then nodded.

"Jisung told me what happened." He said and she sighed. Ten shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why- why wouldn't you tell me? I thought we made it clear-"