Ken fiddled with his new headphones, watching the rest of his lovers move between the stores in the mall. He had finished with his shopping first and, even though he was happy with what he had, he still felt guilty about the price.

The electronics store’s cheapest music player sat heavily in his pocket, barren of music for the moment.

Ken had no doubt that soon it would be full of all the different genres of music that all the boys would enjoy. They were all discovering their tastes and, while they did agree on liking most of the same songs, the boys’ tastes branched out in different directions somewhat.

Park Hyoshin and Trey Songz didn’t belong in the same category of music, but Hongbin and Ravi loved them both. Personal preferences could be different though – it wasn’t strange. They weren’t required to like the same things. The boys could each be their own person when it came to life – after all, the restrictions that had once applied to them were now gone.

They were free to do as they pleased.

However, the downside to that, was that N was free to spend his money however he liked. Even on things that weren’t exactly necessary. That was his choice.

Still, Ken bit his lip as he considered the new headphones that went with the music player. It seemed unwise to spend what little they had on such a frivolous thing when they were still struggling just to pay for food and a motel room.

Ken might have considered returning them if he had the receipt still.

N, knowing his younger lover well, had confiscated it as soon as the music player and headphones were purchased. He wanted to give his boys things that they would love, even if it meant spending a little more than he usually would during the week.

He had been setting a little of his paycheck aside each week for an occasion like this, where he could spoil them a little. N was still saving for a place that was more permanent for them, but it probably wouldn’t be possible until a few more of the boys started working too.

But until something became of all the applications that they were filling out, all that the younger boys could do was to try and make things as easy for their hard-working hyung as they could.

They could take care of him after a long day of school and work, clean their room for him so he wouldn’t worry, make him food and make him laugh and shower him with love and affection until he became smothered by it.

But, arguing N down when he wanted to do something was impossible.

And if he wanted to go to the mall and buy his boys whatever caught their fancy, then all those boys could do was smile and thank him for whatever he (forcibly) bought for them.

Hongbin and Leo came out of the sporting goods store, a new basketball and a pair of cleats in hand. N followed after them, a smug look on his face that told Ken that the oldest boy had won yet another argument.

Hyuk was curled up in one of the armchairs around the fountain, engrossed in a new book. There was a small stack of novels and a few biographies in a bag on the floor beside him.

The only other boy who seemed as troubled by their massive spending habit of the day was Ravi, who was holding a rather nice, leather notebook and shiny new pen set in his hands. The boy wore a look of discomfort on his face.

He looked up and found Ken staring at him.

The older boy offered him a weak smile, earning a smile in return.

Ravi moved to join Ken on the bench, watching the others with him.

“He’s going kind of crazy with all this, don’t you think?” Ken sighed as his younger lover leaned against him.

Ravi hummed an agreement, the deep sound vibrating through his chest and making Ken twitch, his body reacting to the sound like it was programmed into him.

“Hyung is trying too hard to make up for things.” The younger observed. “And for not being around as much lately. He doesn’t say so, but it’s pretty easy to tell that he’s feeling guilty for not saying something to me sooner about how I felt about everything that was going on. It’s not his fault, though – that’s on me.

“This… it seems like he’s trying to say that he does notice things, y’know? Things that we don’t really talk about. Like… Bean liking basketball and Hyuk’s new interest in books. Leo and soccer though… that’s pretty obvious.” Ravi laughed a bit as he said the last part, a fond smile on his face as he watched the other boys.

“Then, do we play along and let him use this to convince himself that it’s all good? Or should we stop him now, before he spends all the money he worked so hard for on things that aren’t necessary to prove his feelings for us?”

Ken and Ravi shared a look.

“Plan B it is…”

The pair converged on their growing crowd of lovers. However, rather than ambushing N, the pair draped themselves over Hongbin.

“You like watching games,” Ken teased lightly, poking at the younger’s dimples. “But how do you feel about playing the real deal? Think you can beat me? Hyung has natural talent – does Kong-Bean stand a chance?”

Hongbin offered him a devastatingly sweet grin. “I’ll crush you into pieces.”

Ken was unfazed. “. We may need to make a detour if you make promises like that~”

Rather than being annoyed with him, Hongbin looked interested. “I can live with that.”

Ken snorted, draping an arm over the flower-boy’s shoulders and pulling him close as they headed for the exit.

Ravi rolled his eyes at them, falling into step with Hyuk as the rest of the boys followed after them. Ravi’s fingers played with the silk ribbon that poked out from between the pages of his new notebook. The motion was absent-minded as he walked on, eyes roaming over the shop windows as they passed by.

They were heading out a different way than from where they entered. A few of the shops they passed were unfamiliar to him.

What caught Ravi’s eye, though, was a little charm from one of the carts outside the stores.

The tattooed boy slowed to a stop, wanting to get a better look.

Hyuk walked a little further before he realized that Ravi was no longer beside him. He turned, the maknae’s face full of confusion.

“Hyung?”

Ravi waved him off. “I’ll be right there.”

Leo and N, who had been following the younger boys at the rear, stopped by Ravi.

“What is it, Ravi-yah?” the oldest boy hummed, hooking his chin over Ravi’s shoulder and trying to follow his eyes to what had him so interested.

“Doesn’t that bunny charm look like Chaeyeong?” Ravi nodded at a little, cartoonish rabbit charm hanging with a row of other keychains.

N picked out the one Ravi was talking about and laughed as he too saw the resemblance. “It does!”

Leo stepped forward to pick the charm up, his lips curling up into a small smile. “Cute.” He turned his head to look at N, an unspoken request on his face.

N grinned at him. “Go ahead.”

Leo shrugged and pulled out his wallet to pay for the trinket.

“Since you found it, why don’t you be the one to give it to Chaeyeongie when you see her again?” N suggested, reaching out to touch the charm when Leo rejoined them. “It might help your new friendship with her.”

Ravi hummed noncommittally.

Ahead at the front of their procession from the mall, Ken pulled Hongbin to a stop when he realized that most of their lovers were no longer with them.

“Yah~” he called, voice even whinier than usual. “Do I have to carry you guys to the court? Let’s go!”

Hyuk rolled his eyes at the drama queen’s words and moved forward to pull him into a punishing headlock.

Ken began yelling again.

N sighed long sufferingly at them, earning a chuckle from Ravi as the three boys in the back hurried to join the rest.

Hongbin looked at the charm in Ravi’s hand with curiosity. “That’s cute.”

“It’s for Chaeyeong.” Ravi admitted, his words cautious and slow. He didn’t meet the flower-boy’s curious eyes, feeling rather shy.
“Hyung thinks it might help our relationship if I give it to her as a gift.”

Hongbin looked a bit surprised. “I see…” For just the briefest moment, a strange look passed over his face before it was schooled back into a pleasant expression. He smiled encouragingly at Ravi. “She’ll definitely like it. Chae likes cute things – like Hyuk. Why she likes N-hyung so much though…” Hongbin’s tone turned teasing at the end, unable to let a chance to rile his oldest lover pass.

As expected, N jumped on him at once, jabbing at his neck with lightning fast fingers.

Hongbin’s methods of flirting were a bit odd, but the other’s thought he had a bit of a masochistic streak.

(Or he just liked riling people up and N was an easy target, just like Chae and Ken.)

Ken, having seen the strange emotion pass over Hongbin’s face, wiggled out of Hyuk’s grasp. The maknae quickly moved on to Leo.

Ken considered the situation carefully, having a theory as to what was developing between the trio of second-years, but wanting to put it to the test before he came to a conclusion.

Now that Ravi and Chae were getting along, Hongbin was the one showing signs of jealousy. The flower boy seemed unwilling to admit it – he hadn’t talked about being jealous at all – or perhaps just unwilling to acknowledge those feelings even to himself.

Either way, something had to be done about it before things got blown out of proportion. Again.

They didn’t need another lover to run off on them again.

“So,” Ken drawled, sidling up to Ravi. The younger boy jumped at the sudden appearance. “When are you gonna give Chaeyeongie her gift? If you do it at school, some people might start rumors of a love confession. Which probably won’t help with Chae’s bully situation…”

Ravi’s eyes darkened at the reminder of the conversation the older boys had sat them down for after their sleepover at Chae’s.

“What do you think I should do then?” Ravi asked his hyung for advice, wanting help in his decision.

Ken grinned at him.

“Call her and ask her to come play with us. That way, Chae will know that you want her around, since you’ll be the one calling and asking, of course. I mean, isn’t it the rule of thumb that an interested guy is the one to text first and all. Well, call in your case… So what are you waiting for! Go find a payphone! You’re wasting daylight, Ravi-yah! Chae’s not gonna call herself, etc, etc!”

Ken hurriedly shooed Ravi over to a payphone, flustering the boy.

The rest of the boys watched on in various stages of amusement and exasperation, but no one stepped forward to rescue Ravi from Ken’s clutches.

---

As the taxi slowed to a halt by the basketball courts beside the park, Chae offered the driver a quiet thanks as she paid her fare. She collected her things quickly and hurried out of the cab so that the driver could continue on his way.

A couple of courts away from the street, Chae could see her friends squabbling with each other over possession of the basketball.

She grinned fondly at the sight and headed over to meet them.

Sanghyuk spun around to dodge Wonshik’s attempt to block him and promptly dropped the basketball at the sight of Chaeyeong. He grinned. Wonshik stole the ball.

Jaehwan howled in despair as Wonshik landed a shot with little effort. Taekwoon looked similarly upset.

Hyuk was oblivious to his teammates’ ire and left the court at a jog to greet his friend.

“Hyuk!” Chae and Jaehwan chorused, one significantly more happy sounding than the other.

“Noona~” the maknae cheered, sweeping her up into a hug. “You’re on our team, yeah? We need help. Jyannie-hyung is terrible.”

Jaehwan spluttered indignantly. “I heard that, you brat!”

Chae laughed. “I don’t think he’s any worse than I am. I can’t even play well in P.E. – and we’ve been playing since elementary school.”

“Then you just trip Hongbin when he goes by. He’s the real threat.”

“And don’t you forget it.” Hongbin snorted, jogging over to join them on the sidewalk. The rest of the boys followed as well. “Hey, Chae.”

“Bean.” she greeted cheerfully.

As usual, Chae allowed herself to be passed around the boys for hugs, lingering a bit with Hakyeon, jokingly making a jab at Hongbin’s ribs, and flusteredly trying to avoid falling on Taekwoon when Jaehwan tried to mess with them. The soccer player’s ears turned a brilliant shade of red to match Chae’s face.

A few of the other people on the courts stopped to look them over as the volume around their group continued to grow.

One couple actually joined in on the noise making, the girl whining when her boyfriend(?) scolded her for not paying attention and getting hit in the head with a tennis ball. Their argument carried over from the tennis court for a moment before the girl said something that turned the boy into a silent, flustered mess.

Chae glanced over at them and shared a sheepish grin with the other girl, both a bit embarrassed by the noise they were making.

She turned back to the boys again and paused as she met eyes with someone else on the basketball court next to theirs.

The boy was about their age, a little taller than Chae herself, and pale and slender. From beneath his fringe of bleached blond hair, his dark eyes met her own, a strange emotion playing in them.

Chae quirked a brow, wondering where the sudden interest in her came from.

The boy hesitated, an expression of confusion passing over his face. His eyes lingered on Chae a moment, then he appeared to dismiss her presence, having completely ignored the boys around her altogether, then turned away with a shake of his head.

Chae stared at him in bewilderment.

How strange.

Hongbin noticed her staring and frowned. A familiar feeling began to build in his chest.

Jealousy.

He scowled at himself, feeling like a child.

So what if Chae showed interest in someone else? He’d be happy for her if she fell for someone or got herself a boyfriend or a girlfriend! He would.

No reason not to.

None at all.

Especially not because he was jealous over some nameless stranger.

“So. Jeon.” Hongbin smirked, bouncing the ball he held. Chae turned to him, quirking a brow at his challenging tone. Her attention was completely fixed on him again. Good. “Show us what you got.”

He tossed her the ball and Chae fumbled to catch it, not expecting to be pulled into playing with them.

She eyed the basketball hoop skeptically.

Chae was terrible at basketball. She could never judge the distance to the goal correctly and had noodle arms. She was sure that she would look like an idiot.

And still, the look on Hongbin’s face made her want to score a point. With his head.

Chae knew Hongbin was goading her into playing – the boy knew her well enough to push the right buttons now – but she was terrible at backing down from a challenge. Stubbornness and competitive tunnel vision was a family trait.

She adjusted her grip on the ball and smirked at him. “Lead the way, Lee.”

Wonshik looked between the other second years with trepidation.

Hongbin and Chae had a good friendship, but with that also came a tendency for the pair of them to rile each other up.

Chae’s first shot… didn’t go well.

Chae watched helplessly as the ball flew over the goal entirely and nearly travelled out of fenced in court.

The blond boy turned to scowl at her as the ball crashed into the chainlink barrier between their courts.

She grinned sheepishly at him, not noticing the boys behind her glaring back at the stranger for daring to look so rudely at their friend.

Jaehwan gave him the stink eye as he went to retrieve the ball for Chaeyeong.

The boy rolled his eyes and went back to ignoring them.

Chae thanked Jaehwan as he handed the ball back to her, his expression making a one-eighty back into an encouraging smile.

Chae’s next shot didn’t even reach the backboard.

Another attempt rebounded and nearly hit her in the face. The boys laughed when she screeched and slapped it away from her face. Taekwoon caught it easily.

She tried again.

The ball bounced against the rim, rolling along it a moment before falling backwards onto the court. Another miss.

A chorus of groans left all of them at the near miss.

Chae growled in frustration, then grimaced as she was reminded of the aches across her body.

Still, she was determined to make at least one shot.

Hongbin was regretting his teasing, seeing the stubborn look on his best friend’s face mixed with pained discomfort.

He reached over to tug at Wonshik’s hand, tilting his head towards Chae.

Wonshik stared at him blankly for a moment before getting the message.

Hongbin grinned as realization dawned on the older boy.

While Chae was distracted, her fellow second years snuck up on her, lifting her suddenly to rest on their shoulders.

Chae shrieked in surprise, clutching at Wonshik’s head to steady herself. She goggled down at the rest of the boys.

“What?” she gasped, her pulse racing at the sudden surprise. “What?!”

Hongbin grinned, bouncing her a little to make her squeal. “Try making a shot now.”

Hakyeon hurried to hand her the ball and Wonshik and Hongbin carried her over to the basket.

Delight was evident on Chae’s face as she realized what they were doing for her.

Chae whooped as she dunked the ball to the cheers of the boys in the background. Hongbin ducked a bit while her hands were clutching the rim, acting like he was going to leave her dangling there. She squealed, laughing as she begged him to hold onto her.

Hongbin tugged her gently off of Wonshik and let her drop into his arms, holding her securely bridal style.

“Two points!” he declared. “For our team! We’re claiming Chae.”

Hyuk howled in outrage. “No way! I called dibs on her as soon as she got here!”

“I’m her best friend – that trumps dibs.”

The maknae made a strangled noise of anger and frustration and proceeded to make a lunge for Chae, the girl nearly tipping out of Hongbin’s arms at the sudden motion.

Both Chae and Hongbin cried out in alarm as Hongbin fumbled to keep his hold on her, staggering away from the younger boy pawing at them.

Jaehwan joined in on the chase, trying to help his teammate retrieve the girl.

Hongbin, however, was as good at playing keep-away as he was at playing basketball. The flower-boy cackled evilly as he continued to evade the others. In all the excitement, he seemed to forget himself and didn’t pretend that all the energy he was expending was wearing him out.

Taekwoon sighed in exasperation and took the ball from Wonshik, who was too engrossed in watching the show before him to be concerned.

With no one to stop him, Taekwoon scored again with ease.

“Two points.” he declared quietly, not above cheating to win.

After all, no one had called a timeout. He could score all he wanted while the rest were distracted. It didn’t matter whose team Chae ended up on in the end. With her there to distract Hongbin and Wonshik, all Taekwoon had to do to win was outplay Hakyeon.

Who had finally noticed his boyfriend’s cheating nature!

“Those points don’t count!” the oldest boy screeched, running to steal the ball back.

Taekwoon took another shot, smirking as the ball went through the hoop with a swoosh.

“Two more.”

“No!” Hakyeon protested, trying to block Taekwoon from claiming the ball again.
As the younger kids continued to horse around, Hakyeon tried his best to win the ball back from his unusually playful boyfriend.

An uncontrolled grin had broken out over Taekwoon’s face, the soccer player laughing more than attempting to score illegal points. Even as ‘annoyed’ as he was, Hakyeon couldn’t help but laugh too.

He lunged at Taekwoon, wrapping his arms around his waist and propping his chin up on the younger’s chest.

“Aigoo,” he pouted, eyes roaming over the younger’s bright and open expression. “You’re so cute, Leo. We need to do this more often if you’re having this much fun. It’s too bad basketball season is over. You’re as good at it as you are soccer. And you’d look really hot in the basketball uniform…”

Hakyeon’s eyes gleamed as he reached up to squeeze Taekwoon’s bicep, imagining him running around all sweaty in a tank top.

Taekwoon’s face flamed and he dropped the ball to try and cover his face. Hakyeon wouldn’t let him, grappling with the younger’s wrists and continuing with his praises and naughty talk, sneaking a few kisses in between words.

The other kids barely noticed the interaction, Chase too concerned with accidentally being dropped and the boys too concerned with chasing each other.

However, Hongbin was unable to hold onto Chae forever and lost possession of her to the maknae, Hyuk sneaking up from behind while the flower boy was focused on Jaehwan. Their loudest lover cackled as he ran away from Hongbin’s now free hands in order to snatch up the ball.

“Chaeyeongie!” he huffed, catching up to her and Hyuk. “Help us out too, won’t you?”

Chase laughed and nodded, Hyuk hurrying her over to the basket so she could dunk it again.

All of the boys, regardless of their team, cheered for her. She looked so proud of herself that it was impossible not to be happy for her.

Chae high-fived Jaehwan and Wonshik, but couldn’t hide a wince of pain as her injuries were jostled.

Hakyeon’s sharp eyes caught it at once and he broke away from Taekwoon to interfere.

“Okay, enough roughhousing with the bunny!” he called, patting Chae on the head as he looked her over. “Her wrist is hurt so she shouldn’t be throwing around a ball anyway.”

“Sorry, noona.” Hyuk apologized sheepishly as he deposited her on the bleachers nearby.

Chae just shrugged, looking untroubled. “I’m fine. Honestly, I didn’t expect to play at all. Sports aren’t really my thing, but it’s fun to watch you guys. I’m glad you invited me.”

She and Wonshik shared a grin.

“Then you’ll cheer for me the most, right?” he pierced boy joked, winking at her playfully.

It set off a chain reaction in the others.

“No way!”

“She’s gonna cheer for me!”

“I don’t think so!”

“I’m her best friend, obviously I’m the one she’ll cheer for.” Hongbin scoffed.

“I’m the baby - it’ll be me!”

“I’m her oppa!”

“I’m her favorite - and I give the best hugs. Chaeyeongie’s going to cheer for me!”

The boys ran back to their game, leaving Chaeyeong rather flustered over being the center of attention.

Taekwoon just hummed quietly to himself.

At least they’d be too distracted with showing off to cheat.

They were all terrible about it in that regard.

With Chaeyeong now stuck on the sidelines, a few of the boys were less interested in playing and showing off and more interested in her.

Jaehwan even went so far as to pull himself from the game whenever his team got ahead (and with their maknae and quiet hyung’s cheating ways, this happened fairly often). It quickly became no surprise to the other boys to look away from a play to find him practically wrapped around Chae, playing with the girl and teasing her mercilessly whenever she would cheer for one of the others.

It was difficult for him to find time during school hours to pay such close attention to her.

ANother one of the boys was just as desperate for her attention.

As their game began to dwindle down and Hongbin stopped playing so fiercely, Sanghyuk pulled himself away from the court and gave Jaehwan a shove, forcing him to rejoin Taekwoon.

The maknae quickly took the empty space beside Chaeyeong, a large grin on his face.

“Noona,” he panted, out of breath from playing so hard. “How did I look out there? I play well, don’t you think?”

Chase wrinkled her nose as he dropped his sweaty head onto her shoulder, but decided that he was cute enough to let the offense slide. She grinned back at him. “You’re very good, Hyuk-ah. You ought to try out for the team next year.”

“The school has a team?” Hyuk gasped in delight. He turned to the other boys. “Hyung! I’m gonna try out for the basketball team next school year!”

Hakyeon paused in chasing after the others, a fond look on his face.

“Whatever you like, Hyuk-ah.” their leader approved. “I’m sure you’ll be great at anything you want to do.”

Hakyeon and Chae shared a grin as she ruffled Hyuk’s hair.

Unfortunately, that little moment of distraction cost Hakyeon.

The basketball slammed into his face, accompanied by a chorus of horrified gasps, and the leader went down. His head connected with the concrete with an awful cracking sound.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Hyuk threw himself off the bleachers, Chae following as fast as her injuries would allow, and the other boys quickly forgot their game to rush to their hyung’s side.

There was a great deal of shouting and pushing as they all vied for the spots at Hakyeon’s side, but Chae was the smallest and most nimble and won the position first.

“Hakyeon-sunbae!” she gasped, wincing as she landed too hard on her knees. Her hands fluttered helplessly over Hakyeon, eventually grabbing hold of his head to turn him to face her.

She barely had time to catch sight of the blood streaming from the elder’s forehead before Hakyeon’s hands flew up to cover his face.

He let out a groan that was just a touch too loud, too dramatic.

“My nose!” he shouted, clutching newly bloodied fingers to his mouth and nose.

There was a pause from the other boys before they redoubled their efforts, each one exclaiming their disbelief and sympathy for his nose.

Chaeyeong sat back in disbelief at the blatant lies being told to her - and in group form at that!

“What the hell, you guys?” she exclaimed, waving a hand at Hakyeon’s forehead. “His nose was fine! It’s his head that you need to look at!”

Hakyeon waved her concern off, pushing himself up off the ground. Taekwoon pushed forward to help pull him up, ushering Hakyeon off in the direction of the public restrooms to the side of the courts.

“I’m fine, Chaeyeong-ah!” Hakyeon assured her, showing her his now bloody nose. Her eyes bypassed it for the rapidly healing gash at his hairline.

Chae could only watch in disbelief as Hakyeon and Taekwoon hurried away, leaving her with the rest of the boys who were trying to convince her that Hakyeon had only busted his nose.

And she couldn’t believe a word any of her friends were saying.

She turned away from them, accidentally making eye contact with the blond boy on the other court.

Chaeyeong groaned in frustration as she watched the other boy’s eyes widen, his pupils contracting and the dark brown of his irises flashing a bright, cyan blue.

Was the universe just screwing with her at this point?

“I think it’s time I went home.” she muttered, and allowed Hyuk and Hongbin to help her to her feet.

---

“You’re sure you don’t want me to ride to the train station with you?” Chae asked her uncle for the third time, squinting at him in concern.

Jeonyeong offered her an unconvincing attempt at a reassuring smile. “It’s just twenty minutes away, Princess. I’ll be fine.”

Neither of them believed his lie, but Chae knew pushing the matter wouldn’t help.

Jeonyeong didn’t like riding in cars and hated the idea of Chae being in a car even more, not being able to predict what would happen to her once she was out of view. Just like how no one could have predicted his sister’s accident on the road.

The uncertainty scared him.

Jeonyeong looked over his niece sadly.

Chaeyeong looked steadier on her feet after the few days he’d spent with her, a new, unconsciously stubborn tilt to her head where it hadn't been before. Chae had always been a bit of a reserved child, even a bit meek at times.

In the time that had passed since their last get-together, Chaeyeong had grown a backbone and built up her confidence without seeming to realize it.

It made her look so much like Jeongsun that his chest ached.

He missed his sister.

Seeing Chaeyeong grow into a near duplicate of Jeongsun made him both proud and sad. His sister had always been a strong and determined woman, but having to see Chaeyeong become the same way because she was alone at a young age made him wish he’d fought his brother-in-law for custody after Jeongsun’s death.

Jeongyeong enveloped his niece in a hug, knowing there was no way to convince her to come live with him, so he’d have to give her the affection she was missing while he could.

“Call me when you get home.” Chae mumbled into his shoulder. “And remember your breathing exercises in the car.”

Jeongyeong chuckled. “Yes, mother. And you should call me more often. Especially if you get into another fight.”

Chae grinned sheepishly at the scolding and nodded in agreement.

“I’ll try my best to stay out of that kind of trouble again.” she vowed.

Jeonyeong bopped her on the nose. “I guess that’s all I can ask. I love you, Princess. Behave.”

“Yessir!”” Chae saluted him and stepped out of the hug as the taxi honked to signal it’s arrival. “Love you too, Unce. Be safe.”

“You got it.” Jeonyeong offered her a wobbly smile as he loaded his luggage into the car.

Within ten minutes he was gone and Chae was alone again.

Her smile faded as she entered the empty house again, it seeming more silent than it had before. And now her thoughts were louder than ever, especially the one concerning her new friends.

She had some thinking to do.