Chanyeol sat at the back of the stage, nearly hidden by his set of drums. Amidst the cheering crowd and his bandmates' singing, he nodded his head to the music, losing himself in the rhythm. He felt electrifying and unstoppable all at once; the atmosphere was much more avid than their practice lounge back on campus.

Once their song had surpassed a dance break, Chanyeol looked up and spotted his friend Baekhyun swiveling his hips and shaking his head violently to the beat (he wasn't the only one who'd lost himself it seemed).

"When I say E-X, you say O!" Baekhyun shouted to the crowd, who retaliated with just as much enthusiasm.

"E-X--"

"O!"

"E-X--"

"O!"

Chanyeol laughed openly at his unpredictable friend. It was Baekhyun's idea for the group to play tonight--he said something about getting a call from an old friend who had set up a big, high-paying gig for them. Whoever this friend was, Chanyeol figured, they'd really outdone themselves. Never have so many people come to watch EXO perform before!

"Thnak you everyone, you have been a fantastic audience!" Suho, EXO's leader, spoke happily into his microphone. The crowd cheered for themselves in response. "Please, keep dancing and enjoying yourselves for the time being. We're going to take a short break and be right back for our last song of the night."

The crowd applauded as EXO walked off stage (even that felt exhilarating). They were lead by stage crew to a private resting area, and once they were left alone, Chanyeol and his bandmates breathed out heavy, content-filled sighs.

"Oh my god," exclaimed Chen. He was the first of them to speak out of shock. "Guys, that was amazing!"

"Right?" Lay chimed. "I don't think I've ever heard so many people scream so loud."

"We need to play at nightclubs more often," added Baekhyun, earning many agreeing head nods.

"That would be great, but we can't." Everyone faced Suho who was sitting in a chair, wiping the sweat off his face with his hands. Sehun, the youngest of all of them, sat next to him in a huff, his lips forming a pout.

"Why not, Suho?"

"Because we're college students, Sehun." Suho replied as if it couldn't have been more obvious. "We can't have our school work piliing over us."

Kai, after taking a long-needed drink of water, opened his mouth to speak. "Who says that it will? We should be fine if we do it on our days off."

"Speak for yourself," Xiumin chuckled. He was the oldest out of them all.

"Yeah," Chanyeol echoed. "The rest of us have exams and finals to prepare for. You and Sehun still haven't even declared your majors yet."

"They're right, guys. It's best that we stay focused for the time being," said D.O, much to the group's slight dismay.

"Ah, but this is so much fun..." Sehun sighed, slumping into his seat.

The group chuckled at him and his childish ways, then a tall woman barged her way into the resting area, ending their previous conversation. All attention turned to her, and then to Baekhyun as he jumped towards her in excitement.

"Monica!" Baekhyun greeted her with a tight hug and a sweet smile. "Guys, this is Monica. She's the friend who made our performance possible."

EXO immediately exhcnaged greetings with her and thanked her for the wonderful opportunity. Monica smiled at Baekhyun's well-dressed bandmates, pleased at houw polite they all were. "It's very nice to meet you all. I'm so glad that you could make it tonight!"

"We're just glad to be here," said Suho. "But if you don't mind my asking, who is it that we're supposed to be surprising, again?"

The group perked up at the question (they've all must've forgotten mid-concert). Baekhyun had mentioned, after his announcement of their high-paying gig, that while they would perform, they would also be the highlight of someone's birthday, Another friend, they assumed.

"Mya, my little sister." Monica replied with a smile. "She and Baekhyun graduated from high school together."

Baekhyun nodded his head in agreement and his bandmates exclaimed in awe. "So we'll really be meeting an old friend of Baekhyun." Chen smirked playfully, generating laughter from the others.

"Hey," Baekhyun chuckled. "I only graduated two years ago, so settle down."

Monica shook her head in laughter with the rest of them. "She should already be here by now. I could go get her if you're all ready?"

"Yes!" EXO chimed in unison.

"Okay, stay right where you are." Monica said before fleeing the rest area. As soon as she left, Chanyeol racked his brain.

'Mya,' he thought. 'Why does that name sound familiar?'

A/N: Hello! I just wanted to say thanks to those that have subscribed and commented so far. It made me really happy to see people actively reading my story. Chapter Four will be posted soon (possibly next weekend), so please stay tuned for more!