The next few days were uncomfortable. Not necessarily bad… just awkward.

            Woozi was done with completely ignoring you, which you should’ve been glad of. But seeing as the way he was acting now, you wished he was ignoring you all together.

            He never told you how he new that your plan was which drove your curiosity insane.

            One Saturday morning you woke up to a blaring sound. You short up instantly, your heart beating out of your chest. At first you thought it was a fire alarm. You were prepared to bolt out of your apartment as fast as you could.

            You screamed and scrambled out of bed but your legs got tangled in the sheets in the attempt. You fell off your bed (thank God you chose not to loft the beds). Your torso was on the ground but your legs were lifted above you, knotted in the sheets that were still clinging to your bed.

            You feel face first on the floor, and hearing laughing and looked up. Woozi’s blurry form was sitting at his desk surrounded by this music equipment. You realized that that starling noise had been his doing,

            You struggled a big against sheets that was trapping your legs, and one of your arms. Man, you must’ve moved a lot in your sleep last night for this to happen. The more your struggled, the more the laugh intensified.

            “Are you going to help me or just watch?” Your voice was unusually deep. You had just woken up.

            “Watch.” He stopped laughing immediately. His blank face returned, and he swiveled around to his desk and continued his music.

            “HEY!” you yelled at him. Trying to free your left arm that was stuck in the jumble of sheets as well. Your free arm was currently being crushed under your own body weight. By the pain you were feeling, you knew it was the burnt one.  “Help me or I’ll-“
            “Punch me again? Try it, lets see how that turns out.”

            This is what you meant when you said that things were uncomfortable.

            You groaned before taking in a deep breath in.

            “HOSHI!” You screamed, “DK!”

            Woozi turned around quickly, “Keep it down! Our neighbors already complained about the noise level.”
            “Says the man who plays music twenty-four-seven. I told you to help me or-“

            Hoshi burst through the door, his expression panicked. He probably assumed that you and Woozi had gone at it again based off of his attire. He was wearing what you assumed were his pajamas: a pain white t-shirt that would’ve fit him in middle school and old tattered green sweatpants. His toothbrush was hanging out of his mouth. His bleach blonde hair sticking wetly to his forehead. He clearly had wasted no second when he heard your call.

            “What happened?” He said desperately to Woozi. He didn’t notice you.

            “Down here!” You yelled, struggling against your bonds.

            “Before you say anything, it wasn’t me.” Woozi stated.

            “How did you get like this?” Hoshi leaned over you. You had to twist your head back to see him since you were lying on your front.

            “Get me out of this first, will you?”

            Hoshi grabbed you by your shoulders and started pulling you.

            “This is not the most effective way to do this!” You yelled, wishing DK had helped you instead of Hoshi.

            “Don’t help her.” Woozi said nonchalantly.

            “She’s. A. Lady.” Hoshi grunted while pulling you. “HOW THE HELL did you get. Like. This?”

            “Lady?” Woozi laughed and scoffed at the same time, “I’m not so sure if she’s a woman let alone a lady.”

            “I would have to agree with ponytail on that one. The word lady doesn’t exactly- OUCH! Okay, this tactic is obviously useless. How about going for the sheets instead of me!”
            “Right.” Hoshi grunted.

            “Don’t agree with me.” Woozi said.

            “What do you want me to do? Disagree?”

            “That would be preferable.”

            “Sometimes I think you like conflict.”

            “He does.” Hoshi said, but you couldn’t see him. He was working at trying to detangle the sheets from your bed. “But only the casual ones.”

            “But don’t think that applies to you.” He said disgustingly. And you knew what he was thinking. He always complained about how your voice irritated him. What was that even supposed to mean anyway?

            “The less you talk the better.” Woozi added. Called it.

            With a grunt Hoshi ripped the sheets free. With the tension no longer in the sheets you were able to squirm right out of the sheets.

            “Thanks Hoshi, I owe you-“ But you were interrupted by Hoshi jumping out the room with a yelp. 

            You turned to Woozi to see that he had the same shocked expression on his face. When your eyes met, he quickly diverted his eyes and fumbled for his headphones awkwardly.

            “No one wants to see that this early. You’ll ruin my appetite.” Woozi coughed, not sounding as bold as he did just seconds before.

            It wasn’t until you caught a breeze that you realized that you were only in a crop top shirt and underwear.

            You tried to think of something clever to say, but nothing came to mind. You just stood there, silenced by your embarrassment.

            You could hear Hoshi talking not so quietly to DK.

            “Yea! She was.” His voice didn’t sound all too pleased. Man, these boys are really the self-esteem booster you needed his morning.

            “Whatever, I don’t care. It’s my room too.” You pretended to say to yourself but it was obviously loud enough for Woozi to hear.

            Woozi took off his headphones, but didn’t turn around. “For god’s sake put on some pants. And a bra! You live with three guys.”
             “Its not like I planned this. This is what I sleep in. How could I have known?”

            “I’m saying be prepared for what could happen.”

            “I’m sorry that I can’t predict when you decide to randomly play music this early in the morning.”

            “Its eleven!” You heard DK yell from his room, “Can you guys not do this, at least wait until after lunch.”

            You and Woozi shot each other glances before returning to what you were both previously doing.

            “Are you doing anything tonight?” DK asked you, a few weeks later. It was around four, and you had just returned from a quick library run after getting a book.

            “Not that I can think of. Why” You said, you heard Woozi snigger from his rooms. Dorm room walls are really too thin for your taste.

            “We’re having some friends over for dinner. Its really casual, you’re free to join if you want.” DK offered.

            You can’t remember the last time you went to hang out with a group of people. “I don’t know, I won’t know anyone-“

            “Hoshi, Joshua and I will be there. Woozi too, but he’s nicer when he’s around his friends. Come on, what else could you possibly have going on tonight?”

            “Nothing really-“

            “Then you're coming obviously. And by ‘coming’ I don’t mean a lot, because the party’s here.”

            You were unsure what to wear. And you had to open your squeaky dresser to try on several different outfits much to Woozi’s aggravation, (“If you open that damn annoying dresser one more time I will tempted to burn all of the clothes you have”)

            This comment started another argument which made Hoshi and DK knock on your door.

            “Coming to tell her to shut up? Please be my guest.” Woozi said when you let them in.

            “This seriously has to stop.” DK said, “One: you guys can not act like this at the party. And two: this just has to stop altogether.”

            “You guys are being louder than us. Which is saying something.” Hoshi said with a tired expression.

            “So you admit that you guys are both loud beyond reason?” Woozi smirked.

            “Stop trying to change the topic.” Hoshi snapped. Wow.

            “What happened to you?” DK said, directing this at you. “Weren’t you all logic and plans at the beginning? But now this-“ he waved his arms in the space between you too, “Now you guys are fighting over a dresser!”

            “I am logical!” You said defensively. Woozi let out a short laugh and you felt your anger rise again and you turned to him. “Like your one to judge-“

            “This is what I mean!” DK interrupted, “I thought you would be better than this.”

            “I am logical, I swear. He just…” You found yourself at a stand still. You looked at Woozi who was smirking.

            “If your logical then prove it to us. Get through tonight without arguing with him once.”

            “I’ll be fine if he doesn’t provoke me.”

            “Aren’t logical people still logical even if provoked? When you first came here it took a lot more than a complaint about a dresser to get you upset.” Hoshi added.

            “Fine, fine, fine. I’ll prove it to you, then. I won’t fight with him.”

            “Good.” DK faintly smiled underneath a worried expression. He pointed at Woozi, “And you. Don’t provoke her.”

            “Can’t promise you that.” Woozi said blandly.

            You stuck your tongue out a Woozi who said “And you call yourself logical! That was the most childish-“

            “STOP IT!” DK half yelled, “No talking between you two until the party starts. You both are impossible.”

            So you did. You and Woozi spent three hours peacefully ignoring each other before Joshua came over. He had sent you a text saying he was coming over early because he “was so bored he could eat his own glasses for entertainment.”

            “Whats up?” Joshua said as he entered the apartment. DK was in the kitchen trying to make a cheese ball from a recipe he saw online. You had been sitting on the couch in the living room listening to DK complain about his classmates before Joshua came in.

            “I haven’t seen you cook in ages.” Joshua smiled at the sight of DK in the kitchen.

            “He’s stress cooking.” Hoshi added, while eating the ingredients. DK had already kicked him out of the kitchen twice for doing so, but DK had given up by now.

            DK just smiled reassuringly. “Just some guys in my class, nothing to worry about.”

            Joshua sat next to you on the couch.

            “I see you didn’t eat your glasses yet.” You poked him.

            “No I didn’t. But if you think I did, do you think that would fall under an insurance protection plan? I need new glasses anyway.”

            “You think strange thoughts.” You smiled at him, as he adjusted his glasses.

            “We all think strange thoughts. I just say them aloud.” Joshua glanced at Hoshi, who was trying to sneak more slices of cheddar out of the kitchen. “Hoshi is of course first, when it comes to the strange thoughts department. I’m a close second though.”

            “I can believe that. With the whole nicknames thing and everything.” You looked at Joshua with sudden interest, “Did Hoshi ever give you a nickname?”

            Joshua diverted his gaze instantly and looked down to the ground. His eyes darted around while fidgeting with one of his handmade bracelets on his wrists. “No, uh, nope…none.”

            “You are the worst liar ever.”

            “I’m telling the truth.” His voice cracked. You shot him a skeptical look.

            “Oh okay, sure.” You smiled crookedly before saying, “Hey! Hoshi!.”

            Hoshi looked up with a mouthful of cheese at the same moment that Joshua shot you a pleading look.

            “What’s Joshua’s nickname?” You asked.

            “Bro.” Joshua said, his eyes fixed on Hoshi.

            “I mean are we saying the one that he wanted to be called or the one that we actually gave him?” Hoshi gave Joshua a knowing look.

            “This is really irrelevant.” Joshua said with a faint panic in his voice. “Not to mention unnecessary, really unnecessary. DK you said your classmates were great, really? That seems nice.” He hastily tried to divert the conversation.

            “I actually said they were horrible, but whatever floats your boat man.” DK shot down the attempt at the change of topic down with a smile. “As you can obviously tell Joshua hates his nickname.”

            “What was it?”  You asked again.

            “Jisoo.” Joshua answered quickly, “It was Jisoo.”

            “Oh,” you said kind of disappointed. “That’s not too bad.”

            “That’s the nickname that he wanted to be called. But we never actually called him that.”

            Joshua stood up this time, “Man, do me a solid, please.”

            “You owe me a solid, if you didn’t forget about the whole us lying to your parents about you being a full time student, thing.”

            Joshua opened his mouth to interject but Hoshi just patted him on the back, “Its okay, Gentleman. It would’ve come out sooner or later.”  Hoshi sniggered as Joshua smacked him on the shoulder.

            “DUDE!” Joshua yelled as he smacked Hoshi who was grinning evilly.

            “Gentleman? That’s your nickname?”

            Joshua groaned and throwing himself on the sofa perpendicular to yours, he pulled the top of his beanie over his face. “Yahs.” He said with a voice muffled by the cloth.

            You laughed. “What’s so bad about that? I thought it would be something weird like Wangtta or something.”

            He pulled the beanie tighter against his face in frustration, “Why don’t you like it?” You asked.

            “Can you imagine being thirteen and being nicknamed Gentleman. It was horrible! I wanted something cool and edgy.”

            “Yea, because that’s exactly what you need. An edgy nickname.” DK said sarcastically.

            “Hey!” Joshua half yelled, getting up from the couch. “I got no dates in High School because of that nickname. My singleness was your fault!”

            “It was not!” Hoshi half yelled back.

            “Oh come on. No girl in High School wants to date some nerd nicknamed gentleman, they all wanted bad boys. Which I could’ve pulled off if not for you and that stupid nickname.”

            “You could not have pulled of the bad boy look. And don’t put your singleness on me. You were single in High School because you could barely look any girl in the eye.”

            “Not to mention how awkward you were. Ah, and the braces.” DK added

            Joshua smacked both Hoshi and DK over the heads. “I was not awkward.”

            “Sure, Gentleman.” DK gave Joshua a cheesy smile. Joshua put him in a headlock.

            “HEY! Do you want to eat tonight or not?” DK yelled trying to escape Joshua’s clutches, the mixing spoon waving in DK’s hand.

            You felt that you would die of laughter.

            The guys had never told you who was coming but you automatically assumed that there would be a lot of people. You were wrong however.

            When the guests arrive an hour later, Hoshi announced that they were here. When he opened the door you saw only two people standing there. There was a guy who looked around Joshua’s age with black hair standing in the doorway in a black biker jacket and working boots next to what you assumed was a High School student.

            “What’s to eat?” The older guy said. He had downturned eyes and had a kind of subtle football build to him.

            “I’m starving.” The younger of the two didn’t linger in the doorway like the older one did. He went right to Hoshi’s side and gave him a high five. “I finished that series you recommended to me. That ending was amazing.” The kid still had the youthful glow and innocence to him. His eyes seemed to sparkle when he talked.

            “Right! But wait…” Hoshi’s joy to see the younger kid slowly disappeared with a narrowing eyes. “I recommended that when I called you last Saturday.”

            The younger one smiled anxiously. “It was really good. I couldn’t stop”
            “How about your grades?” Hoshi hit him over the head.. “Huh? You need to be studying not-“

            Someone tapped on your shoulder, and you turned away from the scolding that Hoshi was giving the younger boy. You looked to see Joshua sitting next to you on the couch. He gestured to you for you to follow him.

            He introduced you to the guy in the leather jacket.

            “Coups.” He said dismissively to you. He turned to DK, “Why is a girl here and where is Woozi?”

            Ahh, so that was the guy that Woozi was best friends with. Based off of his attitude it makes sense.

            “He’s in his room, working.” DK said before yelling. “WOOZI!”

            A few seconds later, Woozi emerged from your room looking slightly disgruntled. But at the sight of Coups his aura seemed to soften.

            His cracked a smile for a split second. An actual smile. Not those twisted smiles that you had seen that seem to radiate deceptiveness. But an genuine smile.

            Woozi patted Coups on the back a little too forcefully. “How’s the bike shop doing?”

            Coups returned the rough greeting that echoed a loud sound. If it hurt, which it must have, Woozi didn’t let it show. “Same old as always. Dino’s getting better at it as well.”

            The younger one who was still being scolded by Hoshi heard this. “I am!” This one was apparently named Dino.

            “Coups works a bike shop.” Joshua whispered in you ear, trying to help you keep up with the conversation. “And he teaches Dino things every so often.”

            “I could gather that, genius.” You whispered back.

            “Who is that?” Dino asked to Hoshi, making eye contact with you.

            This time Hoshi introduced you, “She’s our roommate.”

            You could feel Woozi glaring at you.

            Dino gave you a overenthusiastic smile. “I’m Dino. Freshman.”

            “Is Hoshi your brother?” You asked him. Hoshi just scoffed.

            “This ugly cretin? My brother? Oh Dino wishes he had my genetic makeup.” Hoshi grinned ruffling Dino’s hair.

            “Oh, but guys are four years apart, right? How did you guys meet then?” You asked.

            The whole room got unusually quiet. Hoshi pursed his lips and make fleeting eye contact with Dino, whose smile quickly faded.

            “Well I-”Dino started off very shyly, an expression on his face that resembled the look a puppy would get when reprimanded.

            Hoshi clasped his hand on the younger boy’s shoulder comfortingly. “We were roommates for a while.” Hoshi said with the most serious expression you had ever seen him with.

            Something told you to drop the topic.

            “Dinner.” DK cleared his throat and Dino seemed to brighten up considerably.

            You all sat down at the table which was way too small to fit you all. But judging by the lack on complaints, you assumed the feeling of being cramped was normal for them. You mean, they would have to be used to it, they did have a pack of thirteen.

            “What major are you?” Dino asked, he was on the left of you. Joshua your right.

            “Art.” Joshua answered before you could. You looked at him and he fumbled a bit, “S-sorry.”

            “That’s so cool!” Dino said with wide eyes. “I’m kind of an artist myself.” He stated proudly.

            “Don’t believe him. His expertise is in stick figures.” Hoshi added.

            Dino nudged him. Hoshi nudged him back.

            “Not brothers?” You whispered to Joshua. “They could’ve fooled me.” Joshua just laughed and put a piece of meat on your plate.

            “How do you know them?” Coups said harshly.

            “I’m their roommate?” You said confusedly, you thought that Hoshi had already went over this.

            “No, I mean him.” Coups gestured with his fork at Joshua sitting next to you. His eyebrows lowered on his eyes with a kind of skepticism, and his eyes lowered to look at your close proximity to one another. You didn’t like what he was trying to get at.

            “Music store.” Joshua said, oblivious to Coups undertones. “She fell asleep on the floor and we exchanged numbers.”
            You wanted to die. Thanks, Joshua. That’s the perfect explanation. You felt your face get hot as you felt everyone’s eyes on you.

            Coup’s expression hardened as he glanced from you to Joshua and then back again. You got an impression of Coups having a strong authority in the group, because even DK looked uneasy, at the look you were being given.

            “You slept in the music store?” Woozi said in a condescending tone. “Nice job. Real logical of you.”

            But even Woozi’s attempts at a trying to cause a fuss couldn’t pull your eyes away from Coups fiery gaze. He looked almost like a father; him sitting on the end of the table, only him and Woozi had enough elbow room to eat in the otherwise cramped space.

            You nudged Joshua under the table, and he looked at Coups to see his threatening expression. Joshua’s expression didn’t falter though.

            “Oh no! You got this all wrong. Its not like that. We’re just friends, honestly.” Joshua reassured him with a confidence that no one else at the table seem to have.

            “Really?”

            “Really.” Joshua said, rolling his eyes.

            Coups immediately relaxed, taking Joshua for his word. His tense shoulders lowered and his lip twitched upward.

            “Joshua has higher standards than that.” Woozi said as a side note.

            You slammed your fork down on the table.

            “Seriously!” You yelled angrily. “Can’t we just be civil for one night?”

            You froze after your outburst. You had just yelled at Woozi in front of his friends. . Did you forget that you were the guest here.

            “She’s awesome.” Dino whispered not so quietly to Hoshi.

            “Woozi doesn’t get away with much with this one now does he?” Coups gave you a smile. Wait, what?

            “No. There’s no peace in this house.”

            “Coups you would love this.” Joshua said, after swallowing a mouthful of rice. “She punched him three times!”

            You felt yourself go red again. But Coups didn’t glare at you, he just laughed. “Ah man, I would’ve paid to see that.” He nudged a very disgruntled Woozi.

            They all seemed kind of proud of you. “What is going on? Why aren’t they upset?” You whispered to Joshua.

            “We’re used to Woozi’s antics. Most normal people don’t deal with Woozi like we do.”

            “So?” You whispered back.

            “You deal with it how we deal with it.” Joshua shot you a charming smile. “We don’t let Woozi walk on us. You don’t either. Most girls like you just cry whenever Woozi has his little outbursts and most guys just report him instantly. Its quite refreshing to meet someone who handles it like we do.” He wasn’t only speaking for the group, but you could tell that he was speaking for himself as awell.

            “Maybe that’s because I’m not most people.”

            “I knew that already.” Joshua grinned.

            The night was going pretty amazingly. Coups, turned out to be a huge teddy bear underneath his leather jacketed heart. Coups was really protective of the other boys, except Woozi.

            Hoshi was right about Coups and Woozi being best friends. Woozi seemed to be the only one that Coups saw equally. Coups had a strange father figure relationship with the rest of of the boys.

            Coups and Woozi sat side by side the whole time often whispering and sniggering to themselves but rarely joining into the actual conversation.

            Dino surprisingly was about as talkative as Hoshi.

            “-but then he got kicked out so I had to take hall monitor duty for him.”

            “Is it going well?” DK asked.

            “Obviously.” He said with his head raised. Man, that kid had a little ego on him. “I grew some so I can see over all of the other students head now.”

            The group laughed. “Sure. Sure.”

            “He says that every time we see him. Poor kids just desperate to be taller.” Joshua whispered to you. Throughout dinner Joshua was constantly whispering facts and bits of inside jokes into your ear so you didn’t feel completely left out of the conversation. You appreciate this, and noted to thank Joshua later for being so kind.

            At one point Dino brought up the topic of his art class which immediately drew your attention.

            “What are you working on?” You asked and even Joshua looked at you with surprise. Like Coups and Woozi, you had been keeping almost silent throughout dinner.

            “Clay. We have to make stupid animal figurines.” Dino stuck out his tongue. “I much prefer it when we get to use paints.”

            “Oils or acrylics?” You asked fascinated.

            Dino looked confused. “Just paint?” He clearly was just taking a general art course and didn’t know the difference. “We add water too it though.”

            “Watercolors?”

            Dino’s face lit up. “Yea, those. You must know a lot since you’re an art major an everything.”

            “I know a little.” You smiled.

            “Wait, Hoshi. Did she draw that drawing I saw last time I was here?”

            “Maybe.” You answered for yourself. “What did it look like.”

            “Well it had a tear down the middle of it-” You and Woozi exchanged fleeting glares.

            “Yea. That was mine.” You grumbled, not wanting to think about it.

            “That was awesome! You got to teach me how to draw like that.”

            “If you want me to, I can.” You smiled at him.

            Your offer took him of guard. Apparently, he didn’t expect you to actually agree. “Really? No way, would you?”

            “Just ask Hoshi and I’m sure we can come with a time for me to teach you. You’ll definitely impress your class mates.”

            Dino clung to Hoshi’s arm who smiled and shook him off. “Get off. Stop talking and eat. You’re the only one who hasn’t finished.”

            “You’re not too bad.” Coups said, with a sense of approval. In any other situation, you would’ve ignored the approval of a sign of him just being egotistical. But here, it actually meant something. The leader of this not-so-little group was giving you approval.

            It was almost felt  like you were accepted into this strange family.

            You grinned unconsciously. Thinking that you maybe had finally found the friends that you were craving so badly.

            You were too happy to notice Woozi, who was sitting next to Coups, absolutely fuming.

A/N I know I promsied an update within 5 days i am INCREDIBLY busy with exams being next week and all. WISH me luck :) After exams are done expect a LOT of updates.

Since I promised you I would update it on time and I didn't, I made this chapter longer.

Consider this chapter the calm before the storm because.... I can't say just what, but lets just leave it at that.

Tell me what you guys think in the comments. I've been reading them for support since its almost time for my exams here at univeristy. So thank you to everyone who comments on a regular basis. It truely means a lot.

~D.R.R