“Woozi, if this is something stupid I swear to God I will kill you.” You hissed, turning your head away as the lady applied your fake tattoo. You had taken off your t-shirt. Now down to a tank top, the lady working on your collarbone. You had no idea what it was, Woozi insisting you not look until it was completed.

            “Funny thing is that you could’ve gotten out of the chair if you really didn’t want it.” Woozi said in the chair next to you, keeping you entertained as you waited with dread.

            “I hate you.”

            “You say that.”

            The lady straightened up. “You’re all done.” She handed you a mirror.

            Woozi looked at you, biting his lip in a smile.  It was a pencil, writing the words, in big Pinterest-style fancy lettering reading ‘Don’t be so ing stupid.”

            You looked at Woozi, your teeth grinding against each other. You thanked the woman for her work before grabbing your shirt and walking off.

            “Whoa, you don’t like it?” Woozi asked, jogging after you, his eyebrows caved outwards with concern.

            “You just made me get a tattoo calling me stupid.” You hissed, crossing your arms over your chest. “I’m taking the gel off right now.” You reached a hand up to your chest.

            “No!” Woozi said rolling his eyes. “It’s a warning against other people, to not be so stupid.” He groaned. “I thought you would get it. It’s ironic, see? It’s fancy lettering like all girly and stuff but the words are crude. So its like you’re a girl, but your crude and you don’t take other people’s . And fancy lettering is ironic because… you really aren’t. Its kind of a big you to the rest of the world if you think about it.”

            You looked down on it, your hand dropping. “I thought it was just you being mean.”

            “No, you gotta’ give my intelligence more credit than just doing something that any idiotic could think of.”

            “Okay, now that I get it. Its actually kind of…cool.”
            “And people who are stupid will look at you and think ‘that girl got a tattoo insulting herself how stupid’. So the people who are actually stupid will trick themselves into feeling smarter than you. And therefore you succeeded in manipulating them, so really you are the one who has the upper hand. ”

            You turned to Woozi, who was smiling. “Wow, dude. That is deep. When did you become so smart? I mean it’s really cool. Like man, wow.”

            Woozi laughed as you stared at him in nothing less than awe. “I take it you like it then?”

            “Like it? I couldn’t have come up with something that clever! I mean wow.” You smiled at him. “You like, get me.”

            “What can I say? I’m good at reading people.” He said pompously, shoving his hands in his pocket and the two of you started walking. “But I can’t pretend to be all that nice. Originally  it was going to be a , but I changed my mind.”

            “If you tattooed a on me, yours would be gone. Also this is pretty badass, so I’m glad I let you do it.” You sung your t-shirt over your shoulder, walking in step with Woozi. “man it’s getting dark, how long is this place open?”

            “Till two in the morning, but we can’t stay that long. We have to go and get that hotel room.”

            You and Woozi wandered around for a while, picking up DK from the health center on the way.

            “I’m never coming to an amusement park again. I never want to to look at another churro.” DK swore looking slightly better.

            Woozi turned to you and whispered. “Idiot says that every year.”

            By the time the three of you had crossed the park to get DK and crossed back over to the Red Dragon, the group of guys were waiting by the sign for you; Dino with them.

            “You guys missed out!” Joshua yelled. He looked down to see you holding your shirt in your hands and then at your tattoo. “What is that?”

            “’Don’t be so ing stupid’?” Hoshi read the words out loud. “Well that is a stupid tattoo to get, what do you need a reminder or something?” Hoshi snickered, hitting DK on back. DK jolted forward, cupping a hand over his mouth, wide eyed. DK straightened his back, glaring at Hoshi, mouthing the word ‘churro.’

            You looked at Woozi, smirking, he raised his eyebrows up, a sly grin pulling on his face.

            “Clever.” Coups said, eyeing your collarbone with a knowing look.

            “I feel like I’m not getting something.” Joshua said. “Is it ironic?”

            You nudged Joshua. “Its up for interpretation.” And the group started walking away from the ride. Darkness slowly creeping up around them. The bright lights of the amusement park painting over ever crevice of  darkness in the park.

            Joshua glanced at your shirt in your hands. “Put on your shirt, you’re making me feel uncomfortable.”

            “What? Do my s make you feel uncomfortable?” You said bluntly.

            Joshua winced, eyes lowered over a scowl. “Oh God, don’t say that word.”

            “What? s?”

           “Personally, I like to pretended that you and that word have no affiliation. So this-”Joshua grunted, pointing at you tank top.  “This is quiet shocking. Put on your shirt.”

            “The gel here has to be untouched for five hours.”

            Joshua took of his jacket and wrapped it around you. “Here”

           You shrugged the jacket off and tossed it back to him. “No, I don’t want it.”

           Joshua looked at you, eyes narrowed down. He grunted, throwing his head back, biting his cheek. He knew your stubbornness was no match for his. “Five hours of hell.” Joshua groaned, twisting his jacket around in his hands. Looking straight head with an air of concentration. “Lets just admit that the oversized t-shirt look is your style okay? Because I do not wish to see this again.”  Joshua hissed, biting his cheek.

           “Let it be known that this is why Joshua Hong has never had a girlfriend.” Hoshi declared, as he was walking a few steps in front of you. Leaning his head back to shoot a taunting glare at Joshua.

           “You’ve never had a girlfriend?” You asked.

           “Hey! We’ve established this already!” Joshua hissed, pointing a finger at Hoshi “that stupid nickname killed my social status.”

           “Don’t blame me.” Hoshi sang, turning around and walking backwards to face Joshua.

           “Although I must say, that Hoshi’s nickname helped me secure a few.” Jeonghan gave Hoshi a thumbs up. You looked at him questioningly. “Angel.” He replied shortly.

           “Okay, you did not get girls because of your nickname, girls just like you for some reason. The amount of stalkers that he has had at the store is unbelievable.”

           “It’s the hair.” DK said.

           “If it was the hair then all of us would be able to get laid just by growing our hair out.” Hoshi declared, one arm slung around Dino. Dino looking not at all phased by the change in conversation.  “And we all know even the hair wouldn’t help Joshua’s situation.”

            “I feel so attacked right now.” Joshua kicked Hoshi in the back of his knees.

            The group exited the park, and walked to the the car. Not long after, arriving to a hotel with a long driveway. Bright lights beamed down on you from the large golden sign hanging over the entrance. Potted plants lining the exterior. The tall building rose up, balconies gliding down the sides.
            “Your friends work here?” You asked, as Coups pulled into the roundabout, a man coming up with white gloves offering to park the car.

            Coups waved him away, saying he would check in first. Coups put the car in park and strode to the colossal double doors. A white gloved hand held the golden door open for him.

            “This place is fancy.” You murmured, sitting on your knees to peak out of the van window.

            “Our friends work as waiters in the restaurant, they also bring up food to the rooms.” Dino said from the front seat. “Hoshi says they only got the job because they’re hot and the girls employees like to look at him.”

            Hoshi coughed. “Dino, there are some things that you shouldn’t repeat.”

            Coups came back, and leaned in over the opened window. “So, I know we wanted four rooms. But they only were able to get us three. So that means there have to be two groups of three, and one group of two. Also, they gave us one big room.”

            “I call rooming with Hoshi!” Dino yelled immediately.

            “I’ll be with them!” DK rapidly, his hand shooting up

            “I call Joshua.” Jeonghan yelled, giving him a high five. “We also call major dibs on big room.” They were all speaking in rapid fire

            “Why do you get the two-person room?” Woozi snapped. “Shouldn’t a three-person group get that one?”

            “Last time Joshua and I were the ones who had to sleep in the van.” Jeonghan snuffed. “In winter.”

            Woozi tisked.“Fine, its us three I guess.” He nodded at you and Coups. “Besides I need to room with you wherever we go, we are sharing a suitcase.” You nodded back.

            You dragged all of your luggage into your rooms, and set them inside. “Why is there only one bed?” You asked, closing the door behind you, slipping off your converse.

            “It was the only room they could get us. Besides, that couch folds out.” Coups said.

            The room was small, ordinary. One bed pressed up against the wall across from a tall dresser with a TV atop. Parallel to the bed was the couch.

            “I am calling the couch now.” You declared dragging your suitcase next to it. “You boys can share the bed.”

            The three of you were whipped from the exciting day. You went into the bathroom to change into your pajamas. Making sure you wore an extra baggy, thick t-shirt along with a sports bra so the boys wouldn’t have anything to complain about.

            Without asking if it was okay with anyone else, Coups turned off the lights within a half an hour. Woozi was still in the shower, and you had settled down on the couch. When Woozi got out of the shower, you heard him trip over a suitcase in a darkness.

            You chuckled to yourself. “Shut your face.” Woozi hissed.

            You laid there in silence. The groaning sounds of cars zipping by, filled the empty darkness. Your body was motionless but your mind was going a thousand miles and hour.. Your heart pounded at the thought of the events: you rode your first rollercoaster, accidently held hands with Joshua on a ride (this you regretted, you practically handed Joshua weeks worth of teasing material), and you had gotten along with Woozi.

            You sat there for a few hours, your mind going crazy with an overload of information. It shifted through everything happened. Analyzing over every conversation, reliving every word. The moments left bitter aftertaste in your mouth; a metallic taste and kind of sickness that followed every conversation. A thud that lingered every interaction. You didn’t know what it was. But you didn’t want analyze your feelings now. Now you needed to sleep.

            It was around two a.m., you should’ve been asleep ages ago. You had thought that you were the only one in the room still awake, until there was a creek and you heard a figure get up.

            The figure struggled with putting on shoes. By the way that the figure walked out, you knew it was Woozi. You had lived with the boy for too long to not know his short feathery steps.

            You slid up from bed and slipped on your coat. You guided the door behind you to a silent close. You wandered around the lobby for a bit before you saw him through a window. He had his back facing you, his body hunched over the edge of the pool.

            You went outside, walking nearer to him. He was smoking; his pajama pants pulled up to his knees so that his bare feet could dangle in the water. He didn’t look at you when you sat down.

            “Why are you here?” He asked, continuing to stare off into space.

            “Couldn’t sleep. Like you.” You dipped your feet in the water next to him. “Why can’t you sleep?”

            “My sleeping schedule is all ed up.” He murmured taking an inhale of his cigarette. “Making music does that. I can’t even sleep if I want to.”

            “Do I have to rip the cigarette from your mouth? I don’t want to endure second hand smoke.”

            Woozi smirked, the smoke blowing out of this nose, bring the yellowing stick back to his mouth. “I’m almost done.”

            You snatched the cigarette away, and chucked it into the nearby bushes. “Fine, then.”

            Woozi smiled to himself. “I needed that, I hate smoking.”

            “Then stop.” You stated plainly.

            “I’m trying.”

            “Try harder.”

            “I’m down to cigarette a day.”

            “That’s not good enough.”

            “Breaking a smoking habit of six years is going to take some time.”

            “Six years? You were fourteen when you began smoking?” You scoffed, your voice sounding a lot harsher than you had intended.

            Woozi looked away from you, and shifted his weight, pulling one of his feet out of the water.

            “Wait-, I wasn’t judging you anything. Don’t go.” You said, giving him an apologetic look. “It came out wrong. I didn’t mean it like that”

            Woozi plunked his foot back in  with a sigh. The water swirled around, the lights from the pool casting glistening patterns, reflecting on your legs and faces. If it weren’t for the shimmering pool lights, the two of you would be immersed in the darkness. But here, your faces were glowing with the dancing icy blue light that casted soft shadows on your face.

            “Why do you loathe smoking so much?” Woozi asked, hunching forward, elbows on his knees. He turned his head to look back at you. The whole right side of his face a cool blue, his left side in darkness.

            “Cancer. It kills people.” You leaned back on your hands, only glancing at him briefly. “Duh.”

            He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “There isn’t any other reason?” The look in his eye told you that he knew you were lying.  “Besides the obvious?”

            You looked down at your legs, bathing in glowing lights. “My friends used to smoke.”

            “I thought you didn’t have any friends.”

            “They weren’t my friends.” You snapped lowly, your lip curling at the thought. “I just call them that because I don’t know what else I should refer to them as.”      

            “I’m assuming they were total then?” Woozi scoffed.

            “That wouldn’t even be the half of it.” You whispered, your nose crinkling.

            “Is that why you ran away here?” Woozi asked.

            Your head snapped to him. “What are you talking about.” Your eyes narrowing in on him.

            “You are a transfer student, aren’t you?”

            Your throat tightened around his words. “How did you know?” You leaned into in him to panicked to regard personal space. He blindly stared in front of him. “I never told you that.”

            “I have people who know things.”

            You felt your hands start to sweat. You put a hand on his shoulder and gripped it tightly. You yanked his shoulder back a fit, whipping his torso to you, forcing him to make eye contact. “Who do you know?”

            “Relax.” He said casually, shoving your hands off him. “I don’t know any of your so-called friends. I just said that because I wanted to see how you would react.”

            “Then how do you know I ran away?” You hissed.

            “You came here without a suitcase.” He said blandly, moving his legs up and down in water. “It was obvious that you were desperate. Last minute.…”

            “I should warn you to keep this information to yourself .” You said, trying to soothe the panic in your voice that definitely showed exposed it’s self in your expression. You were glad he wasn’t looking at you anymore. Your shaky hands gripped the edge of the pool.

            “What? You don’t want your precious Joshua to find out?”
            “Yes. I mean- no. I mean- yes. I mean, urg! No, I don’t want him to find out. I just don’t want anyone to find out.” You hissed through a set jaw, your shaky hands stabilizing now. Gripping the stone edge with force, an ache echoing in your fingers.

            Woozi looked down at your hands, one side of his lips pulling up. “You intrigue me.” Woozi said. “We’re the same. But you….” He groaned off, staring at the stars airily. “How can you hold that much anger in you without burning a hole in your chest?”

            “I used to be like that, things have changed now.” You said, removing your grip from the edge, and setting your hands in your lap, trying to give Woozi the appearance that you were calm.

            “Have they? I mean, yes, you’re nicer now. But I don’t buy it. You’re still ignoring something, hiding something.”

            “Don’t talk as if you know anything about me.”

            “We are the same.” He droned in that same causal voice that he always said the words in.

            “But that doesn’t mean you can make judgments about my past.”

            “Honey,” He whispered condescendingly, a dead look in his eyes as they trailed over the glistening pool. “People like us… aren’t just like us for no reason. We weren’t born this way.  People like us aren’t born this way, and we weren’t either. People like us are made. Crafted by experiences, and other dickheads who think it entertaining to play with us. Break us.”

            You felt your heart drop down into your stomach, trying to ignore the pounding in your eyes, the burning of your throat. “Lets stop talking about this.”

            “Bingo. Right there. That is what differentiates us. I face things, you run from them.”

            “Your voice right now sounds like sandpaper on a violin.”

            “And don’t act all pissy at me, I’m not the one who is playing pretend.”

            “Everything is fine. You’re just making something out of nothing” You yelled, your throat tightening around the words as they pushed their way past your teeth.

            “Am I? Oh really? Then tell me why couldn’t you fall asleep.”

            “I don’t know, I just couldn’t” Your head was pounding.

            “Because you were worried?”
            “Why would I be worried?” Your face turning red, masked by the cold glow of the pool.

            “That we will turn on you? That we will get your hopes up and just drop you?”

            “I don’t even know what you’re referring to.”

            “You do, and your worried.”
            “No, I’m not.” Your fists were clenched now, nails digging into your palms.

            “You can’t tell me you aren’t a little bit afraid that Joshua will just leave?”

            “Joshua wouldn’t!” You felt everything rushing back to you in a swirl on confusion.

            “He has thirteen other friends! Why would he need you?” Woozi laughed.

            Your vision flashed for a second. You let out a yell and threw one of your fisted hands at him. Woozi turned at caught your forearm, stopping you. 

            “See?” He whispered, wide eyed, eyebrows raised “Your rage. It’s still there. It’s never went away.”  Woozi was testing you. Provoking you again.

            “Fine, I am angry!” You yelled. “I admitted it!” Ripping your arm from his grip, your teeth flashing him a snarl. “You know, I thought you were soooo cool today. And I thought ‘wow, he seems like a cool guy.’ But now you’re acting like the same arrogant bastard I met the first day of school.”

            Woozi’s façade flickered briefly, his mouth sinking a frown. But they raised a little in a smirk. “I think you are misunderstanding my intentions.”

            “Oh yea?” You scoffed, crossing your arms. “How so?”

            “For example, it’s just like when I saw Joshua in your bed, I misunderstood you as a -“

            You screamed, taking a hold of the front of his shirt, you catapulted him forward. Woozi’s form blurred as he fell in the water with a splash. The water lapping over your legs, flicking you with wet.

            Woozi immerged from the surface, his hair falling on his forehead, dripping onto his face. His wet-shirt clinging to his skin. When his head reached the surface, he wiped his mouth  and continued talking. Not missing a beat after being thrown.

           “I’m trying to say that I can help you!” Woozi’s slimy hand grabbed your foot; another hand around your ankle as you had pulled it of the water, preparing to storm off. “You need to admit these things.”
            “Not to you, I don’t!” You looked at him in distain, almost kicking him in the face. You missed, Woozi dropping your leg to dodge it.   

            “If not to me, then WHO ELSE?” Woozi yelled. His pleading eyes spotted with the blue lights. “I’m the only one who understands. I get you, I can guarantee you that we’ve been through the same thing. Five years ago. I was there. Trust me, I’ve been through it.”

            You froze in your spot. The dripping hair echoing, the waves of water rippling over his drenched form.   

            “You’ll help me?”

            “Yes.”

            “Why?” You snapped. “If you know me then you’ll know I would never trust anyone, let alone a guy who made my life hell for months.”

            “You have to trust someone.”

            “And I should trust you?”

            “We’re roommates.” He said plainly taking a hold of your ankle again. And with one tug, you were sent sliding into the water as well.

            You surfaced, trembling from the shocking chill. You slicked your hair back and rubbed the water away from your eyes.

            “Besides.” He muttered, swimming to you. “You’re too much like myself. I can’t just watch you crash and burn like I did.” His gaze was soft.

            The cold water washed over you, cooling everything down. You felt the heat of your face fade away, your hands fell loosely at your sides.

            “You didn’t purposely lure me out here, did you?” You asked. The reflection of the water swimming on the undersides of both of your faces. “This some kind of psychological trap?”

            “I was just going for a smoke.”

            “Fine, how about this; I will let if you help me if you stop smoking.”

            Woozi deadpanned. “That isn’t fair.”

            “You want me to take a leap of faith, fine I’ll do it. But you have to do it too.”

            “I can’t quit smoking.”

            “Then let us never talk about this again.” You growled swimming to the ladder.

            “Define ‘quit’” He yelled, his irritated voice echoing off the walls. 

            You turned, your floating shirt swirling around your waist. “You have to go a whole week without smoking to prove it to me.”

            “A week?” Woozi looked at you incredulously, eyebrows raised.

            “A whole seven days, you addicted .”

            “You do know that this is such a ed up deal. I am offering to help you with something and you are making me do the payment?”

            “Its because you’re not serious.” You laughed dispiritedly. “Besides nothing that you can say would help. I’ve always been like this”

            “Its because you repress it. It makes it worse.”

            “Ignoring my emotions is the most logical thing I can do. If I ignore them enough, they will go away.”

            “Okay I get, that you’ve come along way. I mean now you are talking to people properly and you weren’t doing before. But all that was just symptom of a main problem.”

            “Are you sure you aren’t a psychology major like Joshua?”

            Woozi grinned. “Funny. What I just said. Those weren’t my words just now. They were Joshua’s. He said the same words to me”

“Thank you for the offer, but I think I am good without your help. I’ve already hit rock bottom from here, the only direction is to go up.”

            “Oh and you think that you’ve suddenly gotten better?” Woozi said. “The phrase ‘time heals all wounds’ in complete bull, if you haven’t noticed. If you keep going through the same patterns, nothing will change. I hit rock bottom at least five times before I realized I needed to get my together.”

            “So what helped then? What changed?”

            “Josh.” Woozi said, a hint of irritation at his name.

            “Joshua helped you.”

            “Yes, he did.”

            “So Joshua can help me.”

            “No-” Woozi groaned his teeth gritted in annoyance. “As much as Joshua did right he did wrong. Just trust me- “

            “Once you stop smoking, I’ll consider it.” You sang, the tone in your voice finalizing the topic. You swam towards the exit.

            “I can’t believe you threw me in.” Woozi muttered after a moments pause. You climbed the ladder out of the pool, him following behind. "You aren’t going to get all mad at me right?” Woozi asked, apprehensively. “I really wasn’t purposefully trying to piss you off I was-“ You turned and gave him a glare that stopped him mid-sentence. “Oh okay,” he lifted his hands up in a surrender. “I might have been trying to stir you up a bit, but it was to make a point.”

            “Don’t worry I won’t make things uncomfortable tomorrow. You can relax. I’m not mad. Here.” You tossed your dry sweatshirt to him, that was waiting for you on the ledge. “Dry off.”
            “I’m the guy.” Woozi said, looking at your sweatshirt in his hand.

            “So?”

            “Isn’t the guy supposed to be the one who offers something of his to the girl?”

             You laughed. “Do you even have something of yours for me to dry off on?”

            “Well, no.”

            “Then take the damn sweatshirt.” You hissed. “Besides we’ve never followed traditional gender roles, why start now.”

            “True.” Woozi tisked, shaking his head around like a dog, his wet hair whipping around. “You punched me first; very ladylike.” He dabbed your sweatshirt on his arms, not bothering to use it on his soaked t-shirt.

            “Someone needed to.” You smirked at him, and he threw your sweatshirt back at him. You, in turn used it on yourself.

CHAPTER COMPLETE. 

Last night I had a dream that I discontinued the story, and a few of you like tracked me down and forced me to give you the final draft of the whole thing.... don't worry im not actually doing it but it was a freaky dream. 

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