Personal Sunrise

Snowfall

Key's POV

A week passed, and it was undoubtedly the best week I had experienced in years. It turned out that Jonghyun was also in my foods class and just had a bad habit of skipping, so the teacher had lumped him into our group for the pyramid project. We spent days on it, perfecting the shape and making sure it had plenty of glitter. Well, to be more accurate, I made sure it had plenty of glitter while Taemin and Jonghyun protested the act. We cheered for Minho at every one of his basketball games, and gave Onew a standing ovation at all of his plays. I often caught myself smiling for no reason at all, and my friends frequently commented on how overly happy I always seemed.

The snow came thick and fast as December drew to a close. I dragged my hot pink boots through the dense slush and made my way up the stairs to the school's entrance.

"Key hyung!" A loud, excited voice floated through the frozen air. I grabbed the railing for support as someone hugged me tightly from behind.

I laughed and spun around, already knowing exactly who it was. Taemin smiled up at me, his chin tucked into a bright turquoise scarf and his bulky green coat making him resemble an adorable snowman. Minho stood beside him, laughing softly. He reached over and tugged on Taemin's scarf.

"You're going to make Key fall over," he said, adjusting the turquoise material carefully. Taemin pouted and pulled at his scarf, causing Minho to frown and pull him closer so he could fix it again. Taemin glanced over his shoulder and smiled at me. I laughed again. He had worked out the perfect schemes to get closer to Minho.

"I just missed him," Taemin muttered, glancing down at the icy sidewalk. Minho put a hand under his chin and tilted his face up so he could look into his eyes.

"Taemin-ah, you just saw him yesterday."

Taemin stuck out his tongue. "So? I start to miss you when you leave me for just a few hours, hyung."

Minho blushed and averted his eyes. "That's different."

Taemin smiled and pulled on Minho's hat until it covered his eyes. He ran back to me and hugged me again, pressing his face into my bright purple coat. His voice was muffled as he made some happy exclamation, and I pulled back.

"What did you say, Minnie?"

His eyes were bright as he grinned up at me. "I said tomorrow's Christmas!" He exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

I smiled and ruffled his hair, convinced that it was absolutely impossible for anyone to be more adorable. "I know, Minnie. What do you want for Christmas?"

"I want to spend the whole day with you and Minho and Jonghyun and Onew!"

"I'm sure their families have other plans for them," I said softly. "Your family, too. You might have to settle for just some of the day."

His face fell slightly. "Oh. Okay..."

"It's all right, Minnie! We'll still have lots of fun, I promise."

I glanced up as Onew came running toward us, waving happily.

"Oh no," I muttered. "Onew can't even stay upright when the sidewalk isn't covered with ice." I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Onew hyung!" I shouted. "Don't run!"

Onew glanced down at the sidewalk and slowed his pace, holding his arms out for balance. His foot, however, caught on a raised portion of concrete and he tumbled to the frozen ground.