This was supposed to be up on 25th May for SHINee's 8th Anniversary but I guessed life had to take a slight detour.. Plus, I kinda got a wee bit of a writer's block,but hopefully, I'm okay now.. Anyway, Happy Anniversary, Boys with lots more to come.. SHINee 4Ever.. SHINee World, Fighting !!!!

P.S.. I decided to rate it as M as there will be a slight mention of abuse, both physical and ual as well as self-harm...

I don't want this for my OT5 story :( but the words just flowed out like that...

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It was a bond like no other. Five young men forged in a friendship that was so strong that it managed to withstand all the curveballs that life threw at them. If outsiders were to see them, they would not believe that they were friends at all. A nerd, a jock, a bully, a weirdo and a goth. Five young men coming from different backgrounds with different sets of crosses to bear. . Regardless of what had happened to them, they were always together. Sharing their hopes and dreams, their hidden desires as well as their need to break free. When one's crosses became too hard to bear, the others will rally behind him to give their support. When one was hungry due to the lack of money, the rest would just look into their wallets for small change that they could combine to buy food for that one person. When one was injured badly after a severe beating, the others would go to their secret hideout to care and dress the wounds till the injured felt slightly better.Yup, the bonds that binded them together was strong that they only regarded each other as family, disregarding the ones where they had no choice but to acknowledge in public. A bond that had its beginnings when they first met in middle school. One small fight between two of them that soon involved the remaining three even as some of the other children started cowering in fear and a trip to the principle's office made all five broke out in laughter amidst broken teeth and swollen cheeks. They then decided to shake each other's hands and promised to stay as friends forever.

Lee Jinki. The boy whose real name was not known to many and more commonly known as Onew was famous. He should have been famous for his intellegence with an IQ of 245, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Onew was a bully. He had taken money, lunchboxes and even clothes from students who had the misfortune to meet him on his bad days, often threatening them with physical violence. Jinki came from a rich family that was known for their newspaper empire that had been in the family for generations. Being one who had loads of money at his disposal, one would think that Jinki had everything. Sure, he had money to spend if he wanted to but what he really wanted was love from his parents. Running the business 24/7 and jet-setting all over the world was not what JInki wanted his parents to do. Leaving him, an only child with emotionless zombies as maids and servants with no one to comfort him when he was at a loss, unable to bring himself to face his fears, his nightmares. When he was younger, he often cried himself to sleep countless of times when he felt envious of others who had loving parents over for any school events. Years of constant rejection in favor of meetings and business dealings broke Jinki. Eventually, Jinki learned to harden his heart. A heart that doesn't feel will not hurt. Now he would only go by the name, Onew, and swore never to let anyone near his heart anymore except for his four brothers.

Kim Jonghyun. A popular jock who had many girls swooning over him over his amazing skills on the football field. A boy that always have a smile on his face regardless of how bad the day may have been. Little did people knew that behind the charming smile and sweet personality, his body hid a different story. Bruises blue and black with old and new ones overlapping each other. Kim Jonghyun was an orphan. His parents had died in a car accident a few years ago, leaving him in the care of his father's cousin and his wife. Initially, it was a happy time. Although Jonghyun was sad about his parents' passing, he thought that he found a replacement family who would continue to love him like he was their own child. Until things took a drastic turn when his father's cousin found out that the insurance money that would have been used to finance their own greed was tied up in a trust account because Jonghyun was still a minor. They could only withdrew a small amount each time for Jonghyun's miscellanous expenditure and school fees. Needless to say, the frustrations and anger of having to feed another mouth without any special benefits caused his father's cousin to lash out on the poor boy. The first time it happened, Jonghyun could not walk for several days without having to bit his lower lip in pain. Now, as he grew older, he learnt to block out the pain. A skill that became useful as he indulged in his one passion, football.

Kim Kibum. One look at the boy and the first thing that most parents would associate him would be an emotional Goth. His typical all-black attire and passive outlook made him into an outcast among his fellow classmates especially with his kohl-lined eyes and piercings that adorned his ears. Kibum or Key as how he preferred to be called, hated to conform to the norm, choosing to focus on expressing his views in the only way he knew how. People who got on his bad side would feel as though they were surrounded by dozens of sharp, fine pins as Key unleashed his verbal attack, not caring if the person got hurt or not. Living with demanding parents had worn Key out tremendously and he can't wait for the day of his freedom. When he was very much younger, he had tried to abide by their rules. He tried to be the perfect son, but as the years goes by, his little body could not cope with the demands of being a perfect son. Something in him snapped one day when he received a 97 for his Maths. Although he was sick that day, he had practically dragged himself to school in order to sit for the examination. His mom even knew of his struggle as he sluggishly tried to walk to the bus stop, yet she did nothing to stop him. The moment his father laid his hands on Key was the day Kibum died. From then on, Key decided to live his life the way he wants to.

Choi Minho. The nerd of the school. He was a tall, lanky boy with big glasses that emphasized his big froggy eyes. Everywhere you see him, if you even noticed him, he would be having a book that covered most of his features. Not only because he preferred to study but also because he wished to keep away people from his life. Every single unfamiliar sound made him jumpy while accidental touches would cause him to retreat into his little cocoon. Only a select few were allowed to touch him. Choi Minho was.... a victim of abuse too. Although they may appear as similar, his case was different from Jonghyun. He was abused by his own father. Minho was about 6 years old when his mom left his father for another man. Minho was too young to understand why but he would soon find out. The first few days after his mom left, Minho's father kept on drinking day and night, not even caring about his young son who had been starving. Being a 6 year old boy, Minho had no idea on how to cook a meal for himself but he decided to go to the kitchen to give it a try. The sound of plates breaking woke Minho's father who became quite angry at the sight of his son crying. That was the first time his father had ever beat him up. Over the years, his father's drinking addiction became worse while Minho grew into a boy that can be said as pretty with his longish hair and innocent-looking eyes. One drunken night on his parents' supposed anniversary, Minho was awakened by someone exposing his lower body. Suddenly, he felt a sharp, burning sensation even as his buttocks seemed to be ripped apart by a huge foreign object. Grabbing his bedsheets tightly, he cried while he was being violated by the person he trusted the most, forced to listen to his father cursing at his mother for leaving them for a rich, old man. From then onwards, he became his father's outlet whenever he was in a bad mood, be it physical or ual, even though Minho had done nothing wrong. Simply because Minho had grown up looking similar to the woman who had broken his heart.

Lee Taemin. The weird kid who loved to clown around and prank everyone regardless whether friend or foe. Initially, there were those who took offense but eventually, it was decided that Taemin had some screws loose and was seen as someone who was mentally challenged. Although he was always smiling and making a fool out of himself, his inner self was the total opposite. If anyone were to lift up his shirt, they would see scars of old wounds. Wounds that were self-inflicted. Among the five of them, Taemin had the rosiest of childhood. There was love, happiness and lots of wonderful times that surrounded his childhood memories. However, behind the colourful tapestry of his life were the dark colours of his inner demons. Battling depression and low self-worth was a daily affair for the young boy especially after relatives tend to compare him and his older brother, Taesun. His brother was the star of the family, the only hope for the prestigious Lee Clan with his achievements often overshadowing Taemin's. No matter what Taemin did, it was never enough. His parents tried to find out what was wrong with him, but they ended up making it worse when his grandfather found out that Taemin had been to see a psychiatrist. In his eyes, that was a sign of weakness and was not to be tolerated as the Lee Clan had descended from a line of strong warriors. Needless to say, Taemin learnt to hide his pain away and he would only allowed himself the release from the pressures of having the Lee name in the privacy of his bathroom. There was just something satisfying as the blood oozed out as though all his stresses would disappear the more he cut himself.

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It was a day like any other day. The sun was shining brightly. Cool summer breeze carressing everyone that was on its path. Sounds of children playing echoed throughout the park. It was such a beautiful sight that would make anyone smile. Except for one lonely figure who was limping with a slight blood trail behind him while trying to hold his body tighter in a bid to hold his tears. His whole body was on the verge of collapsing but he forced himself to continue. He would not stop until he reached their secret place. The only place that made him feel safe.

"Oh my god, Minho.. What the hell happened to you?" Onew shouted in shock as he quickly went over to Minho to carry him to their makeshift bed. "Was it that bastard?? I swear, one of these days, I'm going to kill that . Come on, Min... Don't cry.. You are safe here...."

"H.... H.... Hyung.... It.. Hurts..." Minho managed to whisper before he fainted. Onew sighed as he brushed away strands of hair that covered Minho's eyes after he laid Minho down onto the mattress. He was so grateful that he had skipped lessons for that day after he was given detention by Fatty Florence, his English Teacher, after she caught him smoking on school premises. Keeping an eye on Minho's breathing, Onew started to slowly inspect his dongsaeng's body. Something that he had done quite often with his dongsaengs, especially Minho and Jonghyun with the occasional examination on Taemin. Purplish-blue marks ran across his upper torso, some slowly turning into a yellowish tint. Feeling for any broken ribs, he was glad that there seemed to be none. A check with his ear onto Minho's chest revealed no lung puncture, so that was good.. He then covered Minho with a blanket before ping his jeans to reveal his lower body. He knew from the way Minho limped that this was bad. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Onew still could not stop his tears from flowing down his cheeks. Minho's jeans were soaked in a blood pool that concentrated on his buttocks. There were red, angry cuts over Minho's . A result of forceful penetration without any proper preparation. His hands shaking with anger, Onew tried his best to be as gentle as he could without waking Minho up. Taking the antibiotic painkiller cream which Key had stolen from his Doctor father, Onew applied the medication before he changed Minho out of the blood-stained jeans to replace it with a comfy pyjama pants.

"Hyung.... We are here and ready to party... Taemin managed to get us 3 bottles of wine...." Jonghyun announced as he strolled in through the cave's entrance with his arm around Taemin's shoulders. " Shuuusssshhhh... Jjong.. Lower your volume... I don't want Minho to wake up. Today looked like it was the worst one as yet. He.. He was bleeding when he came here.. Jjong.. God Damn It.. You know how far it was to his house from here. The pain he must have felt....." Onew was taken aback when he felt Jonghyun silently took his hand and sat him down in order to clean the cuts over his knuckles. Apparently, in his anger, he had punched the wall. Funny how he did not noticed that.

"Calm down, hyung.. Being angry is not helping at all. You ended up getting hurt and I'm pretty sure Minho would not like that either. Remember our plans, hyung.. Just two more months before Taemin becomes legal... Then we can be free..." Taemin nodded in agreement as Jonghyun strove to restore calmness in his hyung. "But.. But.. How long can we last, Jjong?? You can see for yourself.. Minho is at the verge of giving up.. You are trying to prevent me from noticing that your ribs hurt.. Taemin's last cut almost drained out his blood from his body... And Key.... He never said anything lately but I can see it in his eyes.. He's breaking apart too... What kind of hyung am I??? I can't even protect my own dongsaengs..." Jonghyun could only look at Taemin in despair as he hugged Onew and rubbed his hand soothingly along his spine. Jonghyun wished that he could reassure his hyung but words failed him that day. As much as he hated to admit it, Onew spoke the truth. Life had not been easy for all of them and it was only because of their strong bond towards each other that they had made it this far.

A groan coming from the bed disrupted the silence that had overtaken the cave. Wiping away his tears, Taemin went over to Minho. "Minho hyung... Minho hyung, do you want a glass of water? Minnie will fetch it for you, okay?" Not waiting for Minho's nod, Taemin quickly went over the to the old shoe cabinet which they had stored some crockery and utensils. Taking a glass, Taemin poured a small amount to pass to Minho, knowing that Minho's body would reject it if he had gulped a large amount. "Thanks, Minnie." Minho rasped. Looking at Onew and Jonghyun who were standing in a corner, Minho smiled. "Thank you, hyungs..."

Jonghyun was puzzled."For what, Minho?" Minho's smile got a bit wider. "For fighting with each other when we were younger. If that incident had not happened, I would not have known you guys. And... And.. I ... I would not have a safe haven to come to..." Unable to take his emotions anymore, Jonghyun went over to Minho to squeeze him in a hug. "Pabo... You ... Stop making me want to cry... You are okay.. We are okay... And we will get through this.." Taemin, who wanted some of the warmth from that hug, flung himself onto the bed and circled both Minho and Jonghyun while calling for Onew to join them. That's how Key found them when he arrived a few minutes later, only to join too when his hand was pulled in by Minho.

Yup, they had their problems and crosses to bear, but with the strength that they get from each other, they will SURVIVE this and eventually, fly free into the vast blue sky. To where their hopes and dreams reside.....