A/n     Is there or is there none? IDK. C: [don't cheat and just read. I think everyone will be happy...OTL]

   From behind the curtain, he saw his parents waiting in the mass of faces, dimly lit by the stage lights, waving to him, their baby. Their smiles were broad, full of pride. Next to his parents was Zhang Ting. Basically his sister, his childhood friend smiled sweetly and held up a sign of led-lights which spelled out “Go Luhan!”. Her loud cheers ran through his bones. He just kept looking out at the thousands, waiting in the dark superdome and the closer he stared at crowd, one by one,  he recognized all of them. He swallowed hard. It was just a crowd of people he knew, literally everyone he had ever met, sitting there, staring at the stage. When nothing happened, he realized he was somehow in the center of the stage with spotlight focused on him. He stepped up to the microphone stand that had appeared before him.

To be honest, Luhan wasn’t sure what to do, until he heard the melodious song. He couldn’t quite understand what they were saying but it was like angels were singing. He tried to sing along,even though he didn’t know the beats, the lyrics or anything about the song but he connected with it. Luhan sang wholeheartedly and peeked to see his audience. All were smiling. Then, it happened. Silence. Eerie, deadly silence. Panic set in. He screamed, but nothing came out. His vocals had disappeared and the angelic song did too. He yelled with all might for it to come back but nothing happened. Nothing.

 Luhan’s mouth just felt dry while his eyes were swollen with tears. It hurt. Not only did his heart feel like it was wrenched out, he felt cold. A part of him had disappeared. The eyes of the crowd were not kind anymore. They were full of judgement, hate, and disappointment. His parents were crying, covering their faces in shame. Zhang Ting wasn’t even looking anymore as she turned off her sign and shook her head as she headed for the nearest exit. He wanted to shrink and die. He was a failure, alone in the spotlight. Luhan collapsed onto the floor, on his knees, shaken by everything. Soon the numbness spread from his throat and extended outwards. It was such an icy sensation, and he slowly felt the need to close his eyes. The world was getting blurry.

It seemed easy to just let go. 

And he was going to.

Until a warmth surrounded him. It was just two simple arms wrapped around him but the warmth even had a voice. It was so gentle and the slight quiver to whatever he was singing soothed him down to Luhan’s frosty core. The cold barbs were slowly fading.

He felt at peace in the embrace.

“Luhan?” The voice asked. It was so close and slightly deeper than his.

“Yes?” He whispered back. Wait. His voice was back. Thank God. His voice was back.

“Luhan. Open your eyes.” The voice said slightly lower now.

“…but it’s warm.” He buried himself deeper into the brace. The warmth enveloped him entirely, making him feel secure.

The voice laughed.

“You need to though.”

“I don’t want to.” Luhan was afraid to open his eyes. Afraid to see that the warmth had disappeared. Afraid to see the eyes again.

“Trust me. You’ll be fine.” The voice was so reassuring. He just didn’t want it to leave. It was so beautiful.

“O-o-okay.” He mumbled. Luhan tried to open his eyes, rubbing them slightly with both his hand, just for a second though. For some reason it was a little difficult though. His eyelids were heavy, as he slowly, regained his vision. The light was coming back on again so he couldn’t see anything yet.

“You’ll hear from me again Luhan. Don’t worry.” The voice was fading away. The goosebumps on his arms raised. Please don’t.

“You lied!” He reached out to grab it. “I beg you! Don’t go!” His shut his eyes again. Last time he opened them, the voice started to disappear. I’m…lonely.

There was no response from the voice and it was silent for a while until he heard, “I’m not going anywhere Princess.” What? Princess?

 He was wide awake now and lifted his head ever so slightly. Just centimeters away, he saw those same pair of dark dazed eyes, looking back. What was even more surprising was that he was hugging him. Luhan let go of his grip as soon as he realized it and quickly rolled out of bed.

“Finally. Hyung, do you know you have an iron grip? When I woke up, both your arms and legs were locked onto me. I couldn’t even budge.” Sehun sat up from his lounging position, and pushed back his brown floppy bangs. Luhan would have laughed at the serious case of “bed hair” Sehun had but he was way too self-conscious at the moment.

“I-I’m sorry. I usually don’t share a bed.” He shuffled his feet awkwardly, as he slowly edged away from the bed. “Did…did I keep you awake?” Damn. This is so embarrassing. His mind was still partially in the dream state.

Sehun shook his head, and threw his arm back, pointing at the back wall behind the bed.

“You didn’t do anything Hyung. I woke up just to that.” He cracked a sly smile.

“What do you mean?” Sehun didn’t say anything back and just nestled himself into the bed again, covering his head with a pillow.What was going on?

It took a couple of seconds until he heard it.

“Oo! Oppaaa—“ A muffled moan pierced through the wall. The voice was streaked with a bit of pain. He instantly recognized the voice.

 “Sehun, who sleeps in that room..?” Luhan’s voice trailed off, just trying to imagine what their neighbors were doing.

Sehun peeked out from underneath to his pillow. “Tao, Wu Fan and Joonmyun are dorming next door. I guess they are getting to know each other?”

He knew it. “Should we go check on them?”

“Hyung, it’s still so early. Go bother Kai.” Sehun’s voice was oddly distorted by the pillow.  

Luhan looked up and couldn’t see Kai on his bed. He couldn’t see anybody actually. There was just a pile of blankets, surprising him. It’s still early. Where did Kai go?

“What if they are fighting?”

“Then they’ll work it out.” Sehun’s voice was muffled.

There was another moan from the next room.

“Sehun, would at least go with me?”  He voice was pleading. He would go over by himself but Luhan felt awkward. He couldn’t just knock on their door. The clock by their bed side still read five a.m.  

Sehun groaned, flinging aside the pillow.

“Fine Luhan!” He grumbled as he slid out of their bed. “God. Hyung. I really thought that I would be able to sleep in late after practice yesterday.” Sehun exhaled, disappointed.

"Thank you.” Now he felt bad.

"Yea Yea. Hyung, it is only been one day and you are really on my nerves at five in the morning.” Sehun stuck out his tongue. The guy had a really weird habit of doing that. Luhan wondered if Sehun knew he was doing that. They left the room and turned left to the room next door. It was dark in the hallways. I guess SM doesn’t like keeping on the lights for costs. I picked a great company.

"Karma for mocking my height." Luhan stuck his tongue back at him as they neared the room. He makes me so childish.

"I did—“ He didn’t get to say anything when Sehun stepped on something. “Holy !” Sehun flew back into Luhan, sending them both back into the wall and bruising Luhan’s shoulder, not that he cared to admit it. Sehun looked into Luhan’s face and awkwardly stepped away.

“Sorry hyung.” Luhan didn’t care, only slightly grimacing at the pain throbbing, but the two, in the barely lit corridors, looked down, at the person, wait, actually,  a group was crouching in front of the door.

“Yixing?” Luhan bent down to see if he was right and he was.

“Hi luhan.” Yixing whispered, rubbing his hand.

Sehun crouched down next to Baekhyun and Chanyeol who were also there.

“Why are you guys here?” Sehun asked in his a slightly thicker tone (probably because he was half awake), prompting Yixing to shush him.

“God Sehun. You are so loud.” Yixing hissed. Sehun,gave Yixing a look back, shrugged and propped himself against the wall. He mumbled something about sleep again, rubbing his eyes.

“Well, I’m guessing it’s the same reason you two are here with us.” Baekhyun’s light smile was even visible in the dim hallway. It shocked Luhan when he looked a little closer at Baekhyun. Wait, was he wearing eyeliner at five in the morning? Luhan was going to ask but didn’t feel it was the right moment.

“The sounds?” Luhan asked to make sure they were same page. Like magic, another moan, of pleasure or pain (he wasn’t sure), left the room.

“ Yes. What is that?” Yixing ruffled his hair frustratedly. “It’s been keeping awake for the past half hour.” Yixing gritted his teeth, obviously irritated.

“Are they…” Chanyeol couldn’t even finish his sentence, but they all knew what he was implying.

“No. They aren’t like that right? Not that I have a problem with that…” Luhan mumbled. The general hum in their little group responded with a mix “I don’t have a problem with that either,” and “It’s probably all in our imagination, right?”

 “Let’s maybe listen in?” Baekhyun nervously tittered. Luhan saw Sehun roll his eyes at them out of the corner of his eye. He felt silly too, crouching in the hallway so early in the morning. It felt a little funny though. It was if they were like mystery solvers? He could only think of Scooby Doo, which was kind of embarrassing considering he was over twenty.

They all leaned against the cool metal door to Chanyeol, Joonmyun, and Zi Tao’s room, which was coated with pictures of Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and Jackie Chen. Even the Karate Kid movie poster was taped up in one corner. That made him chuckle slightly. Guessing from yesterday’s performance, the decorations were decided by Zi Tao.

As they leaned in, Luhan could only faintly hear creaks of the bed due to the calm music playing. He took a small whiff, and recognized the scent of the lotus perfume. It had a sweet fragrance to it, but why was it coming from their room. He pressed his cheek into the door, then Luhan heard a pair of muffled footsteps getting closer to the door. Oh no.

“Guys—“ Luhan didn’t get to finish his warning as, the door opened, causing a pile up for the four guys. Ugh. A shot of pain rippled through his shoulder. I guess that shoulder is a little sorer than I thought. He gripped his arm slightly as he tried to get up.

“What the..” Luhan looked up to see the upside down face of Joonmyun staring down at them. He was in a pair of sweats, earbuds in.

“What happened?” The four of them looked to who was speaking. It was Tao, sitting cross legged, half on his bed, with Kris right behind him.

With.

A.

Roll.

 Of.

Bandages.

…Well, I let my imagination run wild there.

The four of them stood up, brushing themselves off.

“Well--?” Tao asked, slightly wincing as Wu Fan wrapped the cloth one more time around his waist.

“The moa—“ Baekhyun ribbed Chanyeol in the side before he could end. Chanyeol flashed a pained look at Baekhyun. Luhan could faintly tell but Baekhyun mumbled something like, “You are horrible at lying Channie.”

Baekhyun turned back to Tao, saying “We wanted to see if you wanted to go to the arcade with us later.” The guy was sly.

Tao smiled a  little bittersweetly. “That’ nice of you guys but I’m going to stay in, obviously.” Tao pointed at his bandages. His eyes were slightly curved down, hints of disappointment.  

“We were going to watch a movie anyway. Right Tao?” Wu Fan finally spoke up.

“What oppa said!” Zi Tao delivered a perky smile, bouncing up and down, which he instantly regretted as it looked like he moved his back too much. Zi Tao placed his hand on his side.

Luhan heard both Zi Tao’s groan and the others shirk away at the sound.

“Stop calling me oppa. It isn’t the same as ge-ge Tao. You know I liked to be called Kris.” Wufan emphasized on his nickname, saying each word slowly for Zi Tao.

Zi Tao, surprisingly, pouted, complaining, “Oppa is more fun to say.” The soft dark rings around Tao’s eyes made him look like a baby panda, rather than a ghost like he thought before.

Joonmyun just laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. Wu Fan(or was it Kris?) just blushed, tightening the bandage Zi Tao’s a little tighter for revenge. “You are so stupid Tao.” Kris…was that his “English” name?I like it.

“Have fun dealing with this couple. I had to put up with them all last night. I’ll see you guys later. Have fun at the arcade. I have to run and meet my girlfriend.” Joonmyun flashed a sneaky smile before dashing through the stunned group, idling in the doorway.

“YA! WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!” Kris shouted as Joonmyun walked out who stopped listening to his own roommate’s shouting.

Kris looked at them, the six standing there, saying, “Tao and I are just close. That’s all. Right Tao?” He looked to Tao, who had sat up, adjusting his bandages.

“That’s right oppa.” Tao smirked a little, fiddling with one last part of the wrap that was hanging out.

Kris scowled in annoyance. “You are such an irritating kid.”  Tao grinned, frustrating Kris. “Is that all you guys wanted?”  His well defined eyebrows came to a point in the middle of his eyes.

“We were wondering what the sounds were.” Chanyeol blurted out.They were soo close. So close at escaping. Did Chanyeol ever think anything through? The small group smacked their heads in disbelief.

“Channie!” Baekhyun elbowed the curly haired boy. Chanyeol bit down on his tongue, letting out a small "oops."

Kris and Tao just stared back with slacked jaw expressions.

“I told you that you were being too loud!”  Kris pushed Tao slightly on the shoulder.

“It felt good though. I can’t help it besides, it isn’t my fault my back has problems…” Tao was avoiding Kris’s gaze, thumbing his fingers. He revealed a cuter side. It was hard not to fall for it to quite honest.

Kris sighed, and relented. “I’m sorry Tao. I know.” His slight annoyance had faded away. Luhan could tell Kris had a soft spot for Tao. It looked like they were friends after all.

Luhan heard a cough. They all turned around to see Kai who was surprisingly dressed up. His hair was gelled back, extenuating his pouty lips. Kai had on a sky blue long sleeve button down, and black pants. 

“What’s going on?” Kai surveyed the room, proceeding cautiously. Luhan sensed he felt a little confused by the situation. Actually, Luhan himself felt confused.

“Nothing.” Sehun finally spoke up, getting up from his original position just outside the door. “We were all just leaving.” Sehun started to walk to their room, and the rest of the “mystery solvers” decided to dissolve, following Sehun’s suggestion.

He didn’t know why but it took him a few seconds to realize he was still standing in the room and he was the last one. Uncomfortable, he did a slight bow before waddling out and closing the door behind him.

“Bye Luhan!” He heard a muffled Tao say.

“Stop moving Tao! I have to finish bandaging you up okay!?” Kris scolded him. Luhan smiled to himself. Kris sort of reminded him of Feng. A pang hit him. Damn. He almost forgot about his friend.

Everyone had gone back to their rooms. He  saw, as he went further down to his door, that Sehun was still waiting outside their door. The guy was leaning against the door frame and started walking towards him.

“Sehun, are you locked out? Isn’t Kai--?” Sehun grabbed his arm, and lifted up Luhan’s shirt.

“What are you doing?” Luhan gasped.

Sehun didn’t say anything and just frowned.

“Hyung, why didn’t you tell me?” Luhan was confused. Sehun had his arms up HIS shirt and the guy was asking HIM what he was doing? What the hell?

“Tell you what?”

“I hurt you.” Sehun poked a spot on his shoulder and it definitely hit a nerve. Luhan bit on his lip to try to stop himself from yelping. “I knew it.” Sehun genuinely looked upset, staring at the large purpling mark on his shoulder. It felt odd, again, to be under his intense stare.

Luhan pushed his arms away, and readjusted his shirt.

“I’m fine Sehun. Stop worrying.” Luhan tried to move pass Sehun but he moved in his way. “Kid. Move. Now.”

“Hyung, now I feel bad.” Sehun hadn’t taken his gaze off the bruise, even if it was covered. “I can’t make it up to you today, but let me treat you next weekend okay?” His voice was adamant.

Luhan sighed. Sehun looked like he wouldn’t budge on the issue.

“Fine Sehun. Next time. Let’s just go back to sleep and get out of the hallway. It stinks of that lotus perfume.” It was true though. The smell, even if he was used to it at home in China, made him stomach feel uncomfortable that early in the morning.

Sehun chuckled. “Okay hyung. Let’s return to our bed.” He turned around and opened the door. Luhan could see Kai was already on his bed, out of his nicer outfit, and into his sweats, sleeping.

Luhan had yet to follow Sehun in. He had paused just before entering. Sehun’s words had affected him a little too much. Our bed… He buried his hands in his face thinking about the events earlier.

Note to self...put up a pillow barrier or something.

Luhan sighed, his face still a little hot from the memories, and walked back in to go to sleep.

He felt content though.

Happier.

Something was bothering him though from before.

Why did that voice from my dream sound so familiar?

...Why?

A/N

I wonder how many of you thought it was turning into ? ◉◡◉ Naughty naughty. I don’t think I will turn this into and even I do, I will make sure readers who prefer non- things, that the plot can progress without it.. I’m sorry for those who disappointed but the the lack there of. I know I will whiplash for this from Lulu If there is a request though, I could do a one shot of any other otp.  (O Dear. I am horrible at one shots. This fanfic was supposed to be one and now it will be a multi-chapter. LOL)

I hope you enjoyed the little snippets of baekyeol and taoris.

The beginning part also represents a lot of the expectations on each debut groups shoulders for the rest of their careers. I hope you all picked that up. XD

Also, the "warmth" represents the overseas fans I feel, not in the story but symbolically, because they aren't always tangible but they will always support their ot12.

Until next time, leave comments and any critiques C:

Love- Jess

If you want to nag me to write the next chapter, talk to me via tumblr (here) I'm here basically 24/7