Sophie’s P.O.V

Her body hit the cold surface of the hardwood floor as she fell from her bed. The nightmares still haunting her. The familiar screams, the hands, the blood. She jumped to her feet as she felt a wave of nausea shudder her body and she ran to the bathroom at the end of the hall, emptying her stomach in the toilet. It was the third night this week she had had the same nightmare.

One of the side effects of her coma pill was it might make her a restless sleeper, and she was slowly becoming more convinced that she would rather deal with the risk than the nightmares. She dropped down onto the tiles next to the porcelain bowl and flushed the toilet.

She sat with her head in between her knees waiting for the room to stop spinning. She had stopped having that nightmare a few weeks ago, when she arrived in Korea. Apparently it had caught up with her however and her bones rattled at the thought of it. The one thing she could never escape, no matter how far she ran. Memories. The first night she had the nightmare was the night she found LuHan at the gate.

Images of that night flooded her brain and added to the stress of the nightmare, confusing imagination with reality. LuHans crouched figure collapsed at the gate, his arms cradling her as he carried her to the nurse, the pale white walls and tiled floors of the examination room, the expression of pure dread in his eyes that mirrored her own, and blood. So much blood.

She shut off the water before wrapping a towel around herself and tiptoeing down the hall to her room, slipping in silently before flicking on the light. She threw on LuHans old tracks as she had abandoned her sweat ridden pyjamas in the bathroom before slipping back into bed. Praying that she wouldn’t dream.

~*~

She threw her duffel on the floor as she entered the studio, “It is good to be back.” She mumbled and she felt warm arms wrap around her. She turned to see Sehun clinging to her like a Koala.

“You don’t have to dance today you know, we don’t want you to strain yourself.” He mumbled hugging her tightly. She was touched he would care that much about her but shook her head strongly.

“Nope, we are starting today. We have already wasted 5 days because of my bad luck, so we won’t waste a day more!” She ran to the opposite end of the room flicking on the rest of the lights before turning and seeing all 12 boys standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. She huffed, “Amateurs.” Kris looked at her irritated, and she shrugged her shoulder before taking the lead.

“Okay everyone split into your two groups, we are going to work on History first.” She saw them separate into two groups looking slightly more confident, relieved that she knew what she was doing.

“Araso! This is how it’s going to go…..” she begun explaining the mechanics and the basis of the dance and the boys listened intently. She lead them through the first couple of beats, grateful that they picked up on it quickly before turning on the music.

She made them practice to both versions of songs so they wouldn’t get confused at the different showcases, as she quickly discovered many who didn’t understand Mandarin got a little muddled when EXO-M history played.

When it was time for break they sat down to eat and Sehun came over to her. “I went to school yesterday and talked to your dance teacher.” He began and she felt her cheeks flush, she had completely forgotten about that! “James has continued to pester her about your placement.” She couldn’t help but smile at the image in her head. The contemporary Diva nagging the of a teacher brought a smile to her face.

“As he does.” She added.

“As he does.” He admitted with a chuckle. “And she is moving you to the middle group, you have to show her your good enough for the professional level or she won’t move you up further.”

She released a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. The middle was better than the bottom, and she was slightly relieved she wouldn’t be in the top group. She already had enough pressure to deal with.

“You should call James, you promised him a tour of the studio and dinner with all of us.” He smirked. Crap! She had completely forgotten about that. Her hands raised to her head and pulled at her brown hair. He laughed and removed her hands from her hair and patting her on the head. “Tell him tonight’s good, D.O bought all the stuff for Tacos and he can come see the studio after practice.”

Well, it was her night off. She didn’t really want to spend it cooking for 13 guys, but she had promised. She nodded her head reaching for her phone.

The line rung a few times before a perky sounding James answered, “Hey Sophie! How are you? Are you better? Sehun told me what happened, have you been sleeping, are you eating enou-“

“James!” she yelled, drawing the attention of the others guys. She chuckled and waved a hand, “I am fine, Yes I’m better, I have been sleeping and yes I’m eating.” Lay chuckled as he sat beside her. “When are you not eating!” he murmured earning a punch from the girl and an insult from the diva on the other end of the phone.

She returned her attention to James, “Hey come to the Studio at 6, I promised you could see it. Then you can come back and have dinner with us.”

“Yeah she is cooking Tacos!” Xiu Min shouted from across the room, earning a slap on the head from Chen.

“Tacos? Really? I love Tacos!!” He squealed on the other end. “I have dance practise at 4, for an hour and a half so can I have a shower at your place? Ill be all gross otherwise!”  She heard disgust coat his voice and could almost hear him gag.

“Yeah sure. That’s no problem, I will see you later?” She asked.

“Neh! Thankyou Sophie-Noona!” he squealed at the other end of the line.

“Buh-bye James.” The line went dead and Sophie sighed in relief, at least that was one less thing she had to worry about. She threw the phone back in the duffel bag and leant back against the wall next to Sehun and Lay, watching a few of the boys continue to practice.

Kai, LuHan and Tao’s bodies moved in time to a silent beat as they continued going through the motions, each movement in tandem with each other. It was amazing how these boys could dance together, how synched they became.

She had to admit though, her eyes wandered to LuHan the most. She couldn’t help it. He would flick his brown hair out of his face or begin mouthing the words and her attention would be stolen again. The way the lean muscles under his black singlet writhed as he became one with the rhythm. His deceptively thin arms controlling the others movements with a wave of his hand, a reference she made to their ‘powers’ and used in the choreography.

She wasn’t fooled however, she knew the strength that was hidden beneath that light skin. She remembered. How he carried her to the nurses office and up multiple flights of stairs without breaking a sweat. And carrying her was no small task. She unconsciously rubbed her stomach and averted her eyes, she hated how heavy she was, what her body looked like. Her girlfriends back home always said her curves were beautiful, but here, surrounded by tiny petite girls, she was nothing compared to them. And he had carried her. He knew how heavy she was.

The thought sent a shiver through her spine.

The song ended and Sehun stood up, trotting over to Kai and handed him a water bottle. 1000 watt smile on full display. Since when did that happened, she knew that they were friends but she didn’t know they were that close. Her attention was once again diverted however when LuHan took Sehuns seat next to her and drained the rest of his drink bottle.

She managed to sneak a quick look at his profile. Eyes shut and head leant back against the wall, hair in disarray, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his temples. She didn’t know how he did it, but he made looking extremely exhausted look deadly attractive. Her eyes met the floor again and she rubbed her stomach again, trying to rub away her flaws but to no avail.

She took a large pull from her water bottle before passing it to Kris who was sitting on the other side of LuHan. As she leant over him to hand the leader the drink, LuHan smiled at her knowingly, quickly glancing down at her stomach before meeting her eyes. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Ignore the voice that says you’re not perfect, everybody has things they don’t like about themselves. But don’t think you’re not beautiful just because you’re different.”

He leant away not meeting her eyes before getting to his feet and joining Kai and Sehun in the middle of the dance floor. She stared after him as he walked, her mind blank of any coherent thought.

This boy was going to be the end of her. After the visit to the nurses office, LuHan had gone back to be his annoyingly arrogant self. Bugging her every night about how she took too long in the shower and picking on her when she slept in his tracks again, calling her an obsessed fan girl. That little remark earned him a fist sized bruise on his arm the next day.

 Teasing her and making her life hell seemed to be two of his favourite pass times, and he was surprisingly good at both. He hadn’t showed anything other than arrogance since the night she found him at the gates. She assumed his personality change that night was due to stress about the showcase, Sehun had told her he was blaming the bad luck that the band seemed to harbour on himself and that he was depressed for a while.

She had a feeling that the showcase wasn’t the only reason for LuHans depression, and every time she saw him she had an overwhelming urge to ask him about his past. If anyone could understand, it would be her after all. But that night, after seeing a different side of LuHan, one that was vulnerable and frightened  and she promised herself she wouldn’t pursue her curiosity. It was obviously something he didn’t like talking about.

But that night she had also taken a glimpse at the LuHan she didn’t even know existed. One that wasn’t arrogant, or teasing, or sad. One that was kind and caring. The LuHan whose eyes filled with  compassion when she told him about the attack at school. One that carried her up multiple flights of stairs just because she was a little dizzy. One that held her hand and sat with her while she laid on that cold metal examination table. The One that just showed himself again.

The Idol turned back and smiled encouragingly at her before beckoning her over to the dance floor. Warmth rose to her cheeks as she stumbled to her feet and plodded over to the small congregation of dancers in the centre of the studio who were discussing that nights ‘event’.

“So who is the James kid anyway? I think Sehun has mentioned him, but I have never actually met him.” Kai asked her sitting down on the floor, gesturing for the others to do the same as he munched on a green apple. He smiled innocently up at her but she wasn’t fooled, she knew the dancer was a evil and arrogant as LuHan was.

She grinned evilly back at him as if to say ‘you don’t fool me.’ And sat between Tao and Sehun who draped their arms over her shoulders  “Yeah Sehun is friends with him. I met him at school and I invited him over for dinner.”

“You do realise your our guest right? You don’t actually live there?” he snided at her jokingly, still consuming the apple.

“I pay rent, I clean and I make breakfast. As far as I’m concerned it’s my place now too. So get over it you stupid dancing machine.” She picked LuHans now empty drink bottle up and threw it at the unexpected boy, clocking him on the crown of his head. “And besides, I owe him. I invited him over for dinner to repay everything he has done for me.”

“You said you only just met the guy.” Tao mumbled from next to her and she grinned at the maknae.

“Tao! He is the reason I’m up a grade in dancing, my stupid prejudice teacher was no match for James the Diva and he got me up a group.” She said, giving him a one armed hug as the other one was still wrapped around Sehuns waist as he clung to her, his chin resting on her shoulder and his eyes closed.

“Isn’t that cheating?” Tao asked innocently, LuHan and the other obviously hadn’t told him what happened.

“It’s not cheating when the teachers a judgemental cow and she placed one of the best dancers in the class in the lowest group.” LuHan piped up smiling sadly at Sophie, she still remembered how he stood up for her in dance class. Another rare ‘Kind LuHan’ moment. She would lock them away forever and keep them close to her heart as she felt there would be few and far between.

She smiled gratefully at him before nodding at Tao, agreeing with LuHans statement.

“Why did she do that Mei-Mei?” he asked obliviously,  eyes compassionate as he mirrored Sehun and put his chin on her shoulder. She absently scratched at the back of her head, not exactly comfortable with the subject. Taos eyes continued to bore into hers, demanding the truth.

“She thought I was too fat to dance in the top group.” She mumbled meekly and avoided his eyes. Kai threw his apple rather viciously at the bin in the corner and Sehun and LuHan both grunted, shaking their heads. Taos head snapped back at the remark and an unfamiliar expression crossed his face. Anger. He didn’t suit it and Sophie had an overwhelming urge to wipe the scary expression from his face.

She reached out and pressed a hand against his cheek, “Don’t worry. I’m up a group now and I’m not mad at her any more. It was a valid reason, she just could have been nicer about it is all.” She saw him soften as she brushed her thumb under his eye and he flung his arms around her the same time Sehun did.

“Don’t call yourself fat Soph, your gorgeous.”

“Don’t call yourself fat Mei-Mei, your gorgeous.” They said in sync, both gripping tightly at her waist. She kissed both of their heads and smiled gratefully at their kindness. She loved the maknaes. Even though they were older than her, they were like the little brothers she never had but always wanted. They both pulled away and pressed kisses to each cheek before getting to their feet joining Kris and Chanyeol and the other end of the room.

She chuckled at the boys as they skipped away and stood up, making her way over to the bags again to search for her phone. It was 2 o’clock. They had to start working again or they wouldn’t get  enough done.

“Okay guys, lets keep going.” She announced and a groan erupted from BaekHyun as he leant against Kai. “Come on we have to keep working at it.” She said finally and the reluctant dancers gave in. They were about to start dancing again when Kris pulled her to the side.

“When do you start training?” he asked, as blunt as forever.

“Crap.” She cursed. She had forgotten she started actual dance training for SM in a couple of days. Her schedule was about to get a lot more exhausting. “I had completely forgotten. Um, what is it Tuesday?” he nodded. “Then I start next week on Monday. I get this week off, nurses orders. , how could I forget that!” She stomped her foot childishly and pouted, earning a rare chuckle from Kris.

He gripped her shoulder encouragingly. “Don’t worry. It’s our fault you have so much on. I will get one of us to help you with your dancing after your training. Araso?” he leant down and looked her in the eye.

She nodded her head, grateful the leader was so nice. “Araso. Kasahamnida Duizhang.” She replied before hugging the tall boy earning another chuckle. She pulled away and looked up at him curiously, what did he find so funny? “What?! Why do you find me so funny?”

“I have a little sister back in Canada. I haven’t seen her in a long time.” He shook his head smiling sadly. “Too long. But you remind me of her, the way you act is very similar to her. It’s almost like she is here, and it’s nice.” He ran his hand through his sandy blond hair, chuckling nervously.

She smiled at him and rubbed his arm, “It’s okay. Soon you guys will be going on tour and you will see her again.” He nodded reluctantly. He met her eyes and a curious look crossed his face, “Do you have any siblings?”

She nodded, “Sam. My older brother. I don’t see him much as he had a row with the folks and ran off when I was 13.” She repressed a shudder as she remembered the night he left. The chaos and anger that ensued in that household would have put the devil to shame.

“Then you know what it is like?” he asked, voice wavering slightly and he nodded, smiling sadly. She looked up at him and almost chuckled. Now that she thought about it Kris reminded her of Sam in a lot of ways. Dry. Blunt. Really Tall. The leader looked at her again. “What?” he asked, scared expression crossing his face.

She shook of his worries, “I just realised how much you remind me of Sam. Especially in height. My Sam was 6ft 4.” His eyes widened. “I’m not that tall!!” he scoffed and she chuckled tugging at his arm. “Come on. Lets get going.” They took their places and Sophie turned the music, the group of thirteen began to move in tandem and they became lost in the rhythm.

A/N HEEY GUYS!! Yes i started posting gagain sorry for the dissappearance :P

I got to 200 views! BWOH! I didnt know naybody read this, like at al!!!

Thankyou all xox

-Shan