His eyes opened, not registering where he was until a voice announced to a few other people that, “He’s awake!”

Yugyeom looked to the side, where the familiar and welcome faces of the other members floated into view.

For a few seconds he had no idea what was going on.

Then he remembered.

“My dad….,”

He sat up and instantly winced, touching his forehead.

“Owww..,”

He looked at the concerned faces of the other members. “Did anything happen while I was passed out?”

Youngjae shook his head, and then JB stepped forward.

“Yugyeom, what's going on? What happened between you and your dad?”

“We need to know so we can help,”
Jinyoung said, the mother side they knew all too well softening his voice and writing concern on his face where they could all see it.

Panic shot through him like a bolt of lightning, tracing a path of ice down his spine.

“I-I can't,” he stuttered, avoiding their gazes.

“Why not? Yugyeom,” JB said, “We need to know. Please.”

Yugyeom looked up at his desperate face, and then the others.

If he couldn't trust them, who could he trust?

But he had no idea how they would react, or if they would even accept him.

Plus, it would put them in danger.

But it would be amazing not to hide from them, to tell them everything.

Should he really...risk it?

Yugyeom looked at JB again.

His eyes seemed to hold depths of untold emotions, but Yugyeom could make out trust.

And in that moment he made his choice.

“Sit down.” He said. “This might take a while.”

And he told them his story.

“No.”

Yugyeom nodded. “Yes. It's true.”

Jinyoung opened and closed his mouth several times before saying, “How? It's impossible!”

BamBam scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Yugyeom. “How could your parents do that to you?”

Yugyeom shrugged, trying to ignore the butterflies flapping around in his stomach. “I didn't really have a choice. If I rebelled they would have killed me by starvation or something.”

Youngjae's horrified eyes raked over Yugyeom, reevaluating him.

“I-I’m sorry. If I had known…”

Yugyeom offered him a smile. “It doesn't matter if you know or not, what matters was if you treated me kindly. And you did, all of you.”

He sniffled. “Do you want me to show you guys how it works?”

Mark leaned forward, speaking for the first time since Yugyeom's father had interrupted the dance practice. “Yes, but we should be practicing. You can show us when we are back at the dorm. It's safer than here, anyways.”

Yugyeom nodded in agreement. “Ok.”

Slowly, he stood up with BamBam helping him.

His legs protested, stiff from being in the same position for so long, but he ignored them and stretched before taking his spot on the practice floor.

And he danced, washing the troubles away in pain and exhaustion, reveling in the distraction.

Because dancing was what he was born to do, and nothing could stop him.

So he danced.

Tired, stinky and sweaty, the boys piled into the van late at night.

Their instructor had stopped to tell them to leave before they collapsed, before promptly leaving to work with some others.

On the way to the dorms, they all drowsed off, not entirely asleep but not fully awake either.

BamBam seemed to be sticking closer to him than usual, and Yugyeom wondered if it was because of the new information about him before his ponderings were wiped away by the wash of exhaustion taking over his body.

All he wanted to do was sleep as soon as he got back to the dorm but he knew he should take a shower or he would regret it in the morning.

By an unspoken agreement, they all let Yugyeom take a shower first and BamBam offered to go with him to save time.

Yugyeom gladly accepted, and the others didn't even bat an eye as it was common for members to share a shower to save the precious hot water.

After getting their toiletries from their shared room, they made their way to the bathroom and stripped in silence, neither knowing what to say.

The steam from the shower floated around the room, covering everything in a thin layer of moisture.

As Yugyeom stepped into the spray, the warm water trickled down his back and rolled over his sore muscles, relaxing them.

BamBam joined him soon after, and they cleaned themselves in silence still, back to back to preserve each other's modesty.

That night, as he lay in bed, Yugyeom wondered what was in store for him and the band, with his father reappearing and placing them all in danger.

But at least he didn't have to face it alone anymore.

When he woke up in the morning, he didn't feel much better.

Everything was sore, but he was used to the pain by now.

It was that he didn't want to face the other members, scared that they had thought overnight or had decided they didn't want him anymore.

But his fears were unfounded, for as soon as he walked into the dining room he was greeted by a chorus of “Hello”s or “How are you?” and “How are you feeling?” by his friends.

Yugyeom just smiled at them sleepily and slumped into his chair, stifling a yawn.

Jinyoung was still in the process of preparing their breakfast so while they waited Yugyeom became lost in his thoughts.

Which was why he jumped when a bowl of cereal thumped down in front of him.

He smiled at a slightly confused Jinyoung apologetically and started to shove the food into his mouth.

Everyone else also received their breakfast soon enough, and by the time Jinyoung sat down with his, the silence was palpable.

And then Jackson spoke. “Yugyeommie, didn't you say you would show us what you can do today?”

Yugyeom nodded, feeling embarrassed for some reason. “Right now?”

“Sure.”

Youngjae stood up, removing the ever-present ring from his finger. “Close your eyes and I’ll hide this. Open your eyes when I tell you.”

Yugyeom nodded and complied, focusing on bringing his power to the front of his mind, for it was weaker after years of being repressed.

But something was different. He could feel a little nub hidden among his thoughts, and he knew the power was there. He just needed to get it…

He grasped onto it and just pulled.

A burst of power overwhelmed him, the itch no longer an itch, but something easier and comfortable that took over his body.

His senses sharpened, and he wondered what was happening to him.

Dimly, through the hazing of rushing energy and power, he heard Youngjae announce that he was ready.

His eyes snapped open and everyone at the table flinched, at what Yugyeom didn't know, nor did he care.

He didn't even have to get out of his seat.

His hand shot out, palm facing the ceiling, and instinctively knew what to do.

And pulled, in the same way he had with the nub of power, yet different as well.

Something silver streaked through the air.

The ring.

As soon as the cool metal touched his hand, Yugyeom slumped forward.

The rush of adrenaline, energy and power had abated when it touched his hand, and it’s absence left him feeling empty, yet completely satisfied.

The others just stared at him.

“Wha-What just happened?” Jackson asked, looking at the others.

“Yugyeom..” Jinyoung said hesitantly. “You never said anything like this happened. And you never mentioned your eyes changing color.”

Yugyeom blinked. “My eyes changed color?”

Jinyoung nodded. “They went mostly silver. But Yugyeom,” he added. “there were flecks of purple in them. The exact same colors as Youngjae's ring.” 

A/N:

Hi everyone~~ 

How are you all doing? 

This is the last chapter coming from the notebook I mentioned, which means Fluffy_Kittiez will be writing too now~~

*confetti* 

I hope you enjoyed and I will see you in the next chapter~! *^*

-WingedWarrior