Exo Imagines

Rivals (Tao)

"Hey, _____! You down for tonight?!"

Your gang leader approaches you, a smirk on his chiseled face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there," you retort, slamming your locker. Your gang is fighting a rival group tonight over territorial boundaries, and there's no way you'd miss that.

"You better be," he hisses before turning on his heel, leaving you alone in the empty hallway.

You had always been in the gang, ever since you had entered the sixth grade.

You couldn't stand befriending girls; they were too loud and annoying, and always seemed to point out your flaws. So, you enlisted yourself in one of the school's boy's gang. At first, the guys weren't sure about you - you were small and not really much of a fighter. But they saw how you were bullied, so they took you in. They were your brothers, your family. You can't remember life without them, except for a faint memory of a boy you used to play with when you were young.

As you stroll down the hallway, you almost feel as if someone is watching you. You can't see anyone else around, but you can hear footsteps from the hall adjacent to yours. Turning your walk into a run, you rush towards the cafeteria, hoping to lose the people following you. They were gaining on you, and you had no where else to hide.

You were about to give up, until you feel a hand reach out and grab you, pulling you into the boy's bathroom.

"Shh," you hear him whisper, pressing you against his firm chest. Completely pissed off, you shove him away from you. His shaggy blonde hair falls into his cat-like eyes as he stares at you in shock.

"You...you're working for Exo gang, aren't you?!"

"No...I...."

He inhales sharply before continuing.

"I'm Huang Zi Tao, and yes, I'm in Exo, but please, just-"

You didn't let him finish his thought, pinning him against the tiled wall behind him.

"Listen, I don't care who the hell you are. Don't touch me again, or I'll really mess you up," you growl through clenched teeth. You release him, anger burning in your veins.

"You're completely misunderstanding! My gang was going to attack you!"

Your freeze in place as you process the situation. This guy had just saved you from his own gang.

"Why would Exo do that? How does that benefit them?" You ask, still not completely convinced.

"We had a meeting last night...and our leader said that if we attacked you, your leader would be at our mercy. They seem to think of you as their little sister, so they thought that maybe the plan would work. I obviously didn't agree with their tactics, and here we are."

You don't trust this guy. He could easily be pretending to help you, just to lead you away from your gang.

"Why would you help me?"

"It's nothing personal, I'm just sick of seeing all the violence."

You narrow your eyes at him, uncertain of his true intentions.

"Whatever. Can I leave now?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it seems to be clear...."

Deciding to take your chances, you dash into the hall, leaving Tao behind.

You had just gotten home, and immediately, your phone rings.

"Yeah?" You answer impatiently, fumbling with your jacket's zipper.

"You need to be careful. The fight started early once we found out they were after you," you hear your leader explain on the other end.

"What? How-"

Just then, you hear your kitchen window shatter.

Four men lunge towards you. You throw your phone and land a kick to the blonde one's ribs. He topples over, and you're left to face the other three. You try to make a run for it, but one of them grabs your hair, making you cry out.

"Guys, we've got her! Now we'll have those bastards in the palm of our hand!"

You try to swipe at your attacker, but he simply laughs at your attempts, his purplish-auburn hair framing his high cheek bones.

"Let her go, Chanyeol."

You look up to see Tao standing behind who must be Chanyeol, balling his fists angrily.

"What the hell, Tao?! Who's side are you on?!"

"Whatever side _____ is on."

Chanyeol smirks and tosses you to the polished wooden floor. You land hard, your elbows aching from the impact.

"Baekhyun, Kyungsoo...please escort Tao out."

The two other boys from before approach Tao, cracking their necks like villains in an action movie.

Effortlessly, Tao swings his leg back and knocks out the short boy, sending him flying. The other raises his fist to punch, but Tao twists his arm, causing the boy to fall to his knees in pain.

Tao rushes over to you and helps you up, angling you away from Chanyeol.

"This is not over, Tao!" Chanyeol declares before whipping out his cell phone.

Gripping your arm, Tao tugs you out the door and into the cold winter air. He leads you away from your house and towards another, presumably his house.

"_____, I know you don't trust me, but I'll explain-"

"Shut up. I trust you now."

His sculpted lips ghost a smile, and you can't help but feel like it's familiar somehow. He suddenly takes your hands in his. You flinch, but stay still, curious as to what he would say.

"I didn't want to tell you before, in fear that you might not believe me, but we used to be best friends when we were small. You were the only one who understood me, and I was very shy with anyone else. I had to move when I turned six because of my family's financial issues, and I was heartbroken.

During all of these years, I've been trying to find you, and when I heard the rest of my gang talking about you, I knew that I was getting closer. I asked around for what you looked like now. Once I had a description, I went to find you. I saw you with your gang, playing basketball behind the school. I knew that it was you from your warm, sincere smile. You act cold, but I know that you're still the sweet girl I used to share my deepest secrets with."

For once, you feel hot tears pricking at your eyes. How could you have forgotten him? Huang Zitao, the boy who would stick up for you, the boy who would pick the sunflowers from his mother's garden to bring to you. The boy you had fallen in love with.

"Tao, I-"

He cuts you off by pressing his lips to yours in a kiss full of longing and passion from all of the time you had been apart. You had always wanted your first kiss from your childhood best friend - and you had finally gotten it, reunited at last.

~