~*~M~*~

First impressions are quite often wrong. That was the phrase that all of Chen's friends knew and understood well. He seemed like a very quiet and cautious person, but once you got to know him- his real personality showed through. "Xiumin! Xiumin!" He cried out down the hall as he ran up to the other. It was now after lunch on the day that the bucket of water had been dumped off of the balcony and the shorter male was still as dry as he had been when he dressed for school that morning, "Xiumin!" Chen exclaimed one last time as he stopped within arms reach of the other and gripped his shoulders, "I heard what happened! Are you okay? They didn't hurt you or anything, did they?" He asked, his eyes searching his friend's face for any hint of injury or distress.

"No, Chen, I'm fine. Have you seen Kris?" Xiumin replied quietly, he remained calm even in the presence of his overly anxious friend, it was one of the reasons they got along so well. Chen could get hyper and yell and over protect, while Xiumin observed the situation before attempting to calm his friend, it was amazing to some students that they were able to stay around each other for long periods of time- but it was a friendship they had built years ago when Chen first protected him from a neighborhood bully, using his power to do so.

"I haven't seen Kris- wait, you think that his... and yours... you think they're related?" Chen asked with wide eyes and watched as the other gave a slight nod. "That's so stupid! Why are they testing people with powers? Yours was even listed on your file, wasn't it?" The two grabbed their bagged lunches from their lockers and headed outside to the court yard, purposely avoiding sitting near the building to avoid any unwanted run-ins.

"Yeah, it was." Xiumin quietly responded before looking up at Chen, "Wait, isn't your power listed on your file?"

Chen scoffed a little, "Yeah, but what can they do about mine? You know when I use my powers, Xiuminnie." Chen teased the other, smiling brightly as he sat on a bench and pulled out a sandwich.

Xiumin smiled at Chen's response and nodded, "That's true, besides the entire school saw your powers in action last year."

"Listen, how was I supposed to know that they wouldn't hurt you? You're my best friend, Xiumin, you know that." Chen spoke as he watched the other pull out his own lunch and start eating, "I promised when we were kids that I will always protect you, and I'm still holding to that promise."

Letting out a soft sigh, Xiumin looked up at Chen, "That's going to change one day. We'll both have someone else in our lives who will matter more to us than our best friends."

"I have to protect you though, I have to." Chen insisted as he continued eating his lunch, letting a comfortable silence fall between them. They both relaxed as they continued eating in silence, only speaking again as the warning bell went off.

"I'll see you later, Chen."

"See you later, Xiumin! Have fun in class~" He teased before they entered the building and went separate ways down the halls.

~*~K~*~

Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic. Ti-

 Baekhyun counted the ticking of the metronome in the auditorium as he held the note. Quietly groaning in frustration when he realized he was still a beat and a half short. Checking his watch he realized he was due for a break as he grabbed his water bottle, turned off the electronic metronome, and sat down on the edge of the stage, his feet dangling over the edge. He loved that the Choir Director gave him permission to rehearse in the auditorium before school and during his free periods. The bright stage lights weren't on for his practice time, but the entire hall was lit and the working lights were on. He could live with being alone in the huge room if he could see what was happening around him.

"Seven and a half?" A voice rang out from off stage as someone slowly came out from behind a set piece.

"H-huh?" Baekhyun looked up at the unfamiliar face, confused.

A small smile formed on the other male's lips, "Seven and a half beats, correct?"

"Oh... yeah... Uhm... Do I know you?"

"No, but you need to work on your breathing. I'm Suho." The male held out his hand with a smile on his face as he approached Baekhyun, "You need a longer note, right? Your breathing is what you need to work on, and I may be able to help you."

"Hi Suho, I'm Baekhyun... Y-you really think you can help me? Are you a singer?" 

"I'm on a nice streak," Suho teased, having only helped D.O. the night before, the unknown male disappearing sometime during the course of the night, "I'm no singer, but I know a thing or two about breathing- it helps when you're a swimmer." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone as he smiled at the other, "And we'll be able to get your 7 and a half up to what ever you need it to be." He stated with a confidence he hadn't known he had.

Baekhyun smiled up at Suho and gave a slight nod, "That sounds good to me." He quickly agreed, not even bothering to question Suho any further as he already trusted the friendly male.

"Great. Give me a time and location that you're available and can meet at."

"Here at 7:00 AM, tomorrow?" Baekhyun quickly offered, knowing he would've been there anyway.

"On a Saturday, are you sure?"

Baekhyun nodded, "Unless that's inconvenient, I have to be here by 9:00 AM anyway, so I was planning to come early and practice on my own."

"Alright! Seven tomorrow morning, here." Suho repeated as he smiled up at Baekhyun, "Free period is almost over, so I'm going to leave first." He excused himself with a slight bow before leaving the theatre. Suho still did not understand why Siwon had encouraged this meeting- or how Siwon knew so much about him. But the older male had piqued his interest when he explained to him how he could be of service to a fellow classmate.

Baekhyun watched as Suho slipped out the door just in time for the warning bell to ring. Letting out a soft laugh, he took a sip of his water before capping the bottle. He had two free periods in a row, so for today he was staying and rehearsing the rest of the song.

~*~M~*~

Lay's heart was racing as he entered the room. "Y-you called me, Siwon?" He asked quietly as he looked up at the older gentleman.

"Yes, I need a favor from you, Lay. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I-I can handle it..." He quietly responded, he had a type of blind faith in Siwon that he didn't want to admit to, but here he was, easily accepting a request from the older male.

Siwon quickly led Lay into the adjoining room, "It's Luhan. He won't tell me what happened, but his arm is broken. I know I told you to use your powers sparingly for safety purposes... but we're in private rooms, will you be okay using them knowing that's the case?" 

Lay listened to Siwon's mini rant as they passed through the room, his gaze drawn more to the orbs that were sitting on the floor than to watching where he was walking. When Siwon paused to give him  a chance to answer, Lay quietly spoke, "It's just a broken arm?" He asked quietly finally looking up at Siwon to see the older male nod, "I-I can fix it." He stated, setting it in his mind as something he absolutely must do.

Smiling at Lay's response, Siwon led them into the final room on the far side of the room with the silvery orbs, "He's laying in his bed, I'll stay outside here so that you can tend to him knowing that you're safe and secure." Siwon reassured Lay before sending him inside Luhan's room.

"L-Luhan?" Lay quietly called to the figure on the bed as he moved closer, "L-Luhan, how are you?"

"Siwon sent you didn't he?" Luhan immediately questioned, his arm pressed against his chest as he cradled it, wiggling his way into a seated position as he looked over at the other.

Lay gave a slight nod, "Y-yes... Luhan, what happened?" He asked as his eyes landed on the protected arm, any fool could tell it was broken, and there was pain visible in the other male's eyes as he moved.

"I… I don't know, Lay." Luhan let out a soft sigh. "I think I found a tenth one though." Luhan divulged to Lay, the latter being one of the few he actually trusted.

Nodding, Lay made his way over to Luhan and sat on the edge of the bed, holding his hands out for Luhan's arm. "That's good, right? That means there's only two left."

"That's the problem, Lay. There's only two left... but I'm sensing that there are more than two people with powers remaining." As Luhan spoke he slowly relinquished the cradling position he had been holding his arm in and held it out for Lay who gently placed one hand near the elbow and the other supporting Luhan's wrist.

"That's... not possible... is it?" Lay asked before focusing his energy on the break he sensed in the ulna bone of the other's forearm. He fell into silence as he closed his eyes and focused more on the other's broken arm, the tattoo on his wrist glowing faintly as his powers started to mend the bone and Luhan's face scrunched slightly in distaste. It felt weird to have his bones mending back together so quickly.

Opening his eyes slightly, Luhan looked up at Lay, "I didn't think so, but it is. I don't know who they are, nor what their powers are... but they're out there." He mumbled, "Thanks for healing me, Lay."

"You're welcome. You know, for something like this, I don't mind healing you, Luhan."

"I'll keep that in mind. Hey, if you see anything suspicious, tell me- alright?"

"Are you hiding this from Siwon?" Luhan nodded in response to Lay's question, "Alright, I'll do my best,  Luhan." He mumbled, giving a small smile.

"Thanks, you're the best, Lay!" Luhan smiled warmly at the other male who nodded and released his arm.

"It's going to be sore for another day or two," Lay explained as he nodded at Luhan's arm, "But you should have full mobility. If there's any problems, call me, alright?" Having received a nod from Luhan, Lay smiled warmly, "Besides, you're almost like family to me- so be careful." He added as he stood up, dusting off his pants.

"We could be family... after all, we were both adopted, so who knows?"  Luhan mumbled as he smiled up at Lay from the bed.

"Hey~ don't tease me like that~" Lay let out a soft laugh as he shook his head, "I'll be going now, stay in touch..." he quietly added, praying that they wouldn't loose contact again, he didn't want to be isolated from Luhan. To Lay, Luhan was one of the only people who understood him.