"STOP!"

"Nice to see you only care about Heechul now, Jungsu!"

"Kangin, I swear..."

"Teukie, come on, step back!"

"Hyungs, just breathe!"

"PLEASE STOP! CAN'T YOU SEE..."

"If that BRAT can't cope, maybe he should just move in with his BOYFRIEND."

__________________________

Everything froze.

Kangin spun around. Leeteuk followed suit. Ryeowook gasped and the others stood still, afraid to move.

Donghae fell to the floor, grasping for anything, his lungs threatening to give out at any second.

He grabbed Hyukjae's hands, his own shaking from the shock, and pulled him nearer, holding him close and rocking him slowly.

"Donghae, what happened?" Leeteuk rushed over and bent down, hand out to check on Hyukjae.

"DON'T. Don't touch him!" Donghae yelled at Leeteuk, his eyes taking care to look at every person there. Finally, his glare landed on Kangin. "Don't you dare come near him."

"Hae..."

"JUST STOP." Donghae looked down to Hyukjae's face - his eyes were flickering open, but his body was still limp. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up. The lights were bright, the room was still spinning...

"Hae, w-w-where are you?" He whispered the words, before collapsing to the side, coughing and wheezing. Donghae felt his eyes start to water. No, not now, get him help. He needs help.

"I need a blanket, water and towels." No one moved. "NOW. Can't you see he needs help?" Yesung was the first to move, running to the kitchen to get water. Kyuhyun mumbled something before walking swiftly towards the bathroom. Donghae lifted Hyukjae's head up to face his. "Hyukkie, let me see your eyes" he whispered softly. Hyukjae opened his eyes, and looked forwards, trying to see a face. Any face.

"Hae, I can't see you." His voice was hoarse and it sounded like a croak. Donghae stared into his eyes, the two black dots portraying two different sized worlds. His hand reached for Hyukjae's head, where a large bump had formed.

"Hyukjae, take my hand. I'm going to get you help." Kissing his forehead, Donghae picked him up. Kyuhyun came back with blankets and towels, while Yesung stumbled forward, holding 5 bottles of water. Donghae walked towards the youngest and motioned for him to cover Hyukjae with the blanket.

Donghae walked towards the door, followed by Yesung and Kyuhyun. Leeteuk stood motionless, his eyes watering. Kangin took a step forward, one that Donghae heard through the silence of the dorm. He stopped and turned to face the remaining members.

"I'm taking him to the hospital, and I'm doing it quietly. No one can know he's there. If you want to come, you can, as long as you keep your mouths shut and your hands away from him. He doesn't need ANY of this." Hyukjae groaned in his arms, and Donghae's instincts took over. He clutched Hyuk closer, walked faster, and slammed the door once he left. They could follow if they wanted, but he wasn't about to wait around while his best friend, his love, lay hurting in his arms.

The elevator ride seemed to take an hour. Yesung and Kyuhyun stood at either ends of the box, while Donghae sat on the floor holding Hyukjae closer.

"Hyukkie, drink some water." Yesung took his cue and bent down, passing one bottle towards the pair. Donghae opened Hyukjae's mouth and motioned to Yesung to pour some in. His hands had never shaked more, and the water spilled all over the elevator, but no one seemed to mind. Hyukjae drank some, and that was what mattered.

Until he turned to the side and spat every last drop out. The coughing, the wheezing, began again. Donghae looked to Kyuhyun, who passed him a towel, his own eyes portraying a fear people rarely saw in him.

By the time the elevator dinged, Donghae was stood up with Hyukjae in his arms once more, doing his best to simultaneously walk, hold him and hold a towel for any more coughing fits.

Yesung ran ahead in the lobby, going to speak to a van driver about the situation. Donghae walked forwards, minding his steps, making sure there was not one single bump that could displace Hyukjae even further. The driver saw the scene in front of him, nodded, and ran outside, jumping into a van parked directly outside of the building. A wave of relief spread through Donghae's mind, and he rushed towards the black vehicle.

"DONGHAE! DONGHAE!" He heard a voice coming from behind him, several voices, people out of breath, but didn't stop. If it was Leeteuk, Kangin, Siwon, Ryeowook, it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting the man, now coughing and groaning in his arms, to a hospital. A safe place.

The black door shut behind him, muting the cries from the lobby and the traffic from the streets. Yesung sat in the front, looking back at Hyukjae with tears in his eyes.

"What do you think happened?" His voice wavered, but the question remained loud and clear, hanging in the air. Donghae looked at the face in his arms, it's eyes shut and red, lips shaking, tints of red around his mouth, skin pale and blotchy, head swollen. It was the face of a man he had known for years, since before they were men, a man he had grown to know, love, cherish, someone who he knew better than anyone in the world. Yet, this one time, this one critical time...

"I...I don't know." He knew nothing. He had no idea why he had fainted, no idea why he was so upset. He was completely unaware. And he felt horrible about it.

Kyuhyun sighed, resting his head against the window. "He always does this, keeps stuff to himself when things get tense." Donghae Hyukjae's face, nodding at the comment. Kyuhyun was right. Every time the was tension in the group, Hyukjae would stay silent, work himself into illness. It had never been as bad as this though.

Hyukjae opened his eyes slightly, coughing less vigorously than before. Donghae propped his head up, holding the towel near his mouth. The city lights from outside whizzed by as the van drove at high speeds. Any other time, the members would have yelled at the driver to slow down, but not today. Not now. The faster they drove, the faster they got there.

"Hyukkie, can you hear me? It's Donghae..." Donghae softly spoke, eyeing the now moving eyes and trembling mouth of Hyukjae.

"Hae...turn the radio off...it's fuzzy...and it's bright...shut the shades..." the reply was disjointed, the words slurred and quiet. Donghae felt tears running down his cheek. Hyukjae must have hit his head hard.

"It's not bright, Hyukkie, and there's no radio. We're going to the hospital." He looked quickly at Yesung, who was staring at Hyukjae with pure terror plastered across his face. Donghae wiped the tears from his face and lay Hyukjae flat again, his head resting in the crook of his arm.

The rest of the journey passed in silence. Donghae couldn't take his eyes off of Hyukjae, who lay in his arms, looking around occasionally, but for the most part coughing softly every few seconds. Yesung turned around to face the front, watching the pair through the rearview mirror. Kyuhyun took out his phone, trying to avert his attention from what was happening. He saw Leeteuk had texted him several times.

Kyuhyun, are you still with Eunhyukkie and Hae?

Kyuhyun, please reply. Siwon, Shindong and myself are going to the hospital. We should arrive shortly after you.

Kyuhyun, I texted Heechul. He's leaving work to come. Kangin may come too, he and Wook were going to talk.

Kyuhyun! Yah, reply!

Teukie- Hyung, we're almost there, just don't annoy Hae. He's scared.

Just as he sent his reply, the van halted. Donghae grabbed onto Hyukjae, ensuring he didn't fall off the seat. He was about to scream at the driver for stopping so suddenly, when he looked outside and saw where they were.

"Yesung, go inside and ask for a doctor and a stretcher."

"But people will see..."

"Hyung, we're at the side entrance, no one will see" Kyuhyun interjected, opening his door and stepping outside. Yesung followed.

"Hyukkie...we're here now. Can you still hear me?" Donghae sat Hyukjae up slightly, rubbing his back in circular motions. Hyukjae slowly opened his eyes fully, blinking several times.

"Hae...what...I feel sick..." he jolted to the side, coughing up sick on the car floor. Donghae rubbed his back, holding him so he wouldn't fall. The driver turned around, and Donghae looked him in the eyes, feeling tears continuously running down his cheeks. The driver nodded, understanding the predicament, and turned back around.

"Shhh, it's okay. I've got you. You're fine." Donghae tried to believe his own words, despite everything telling him Hyukjae was not fine. The uneven pupils. The coughing. The bump on his head. The weeks of tiredness he had been suffering from prior. The argument. The stress. "You're fine." But I'm scared.

The door opened quickly, and Yesung poked his head inside. "Hae, doctor's here. They said just carry him out and the stretcher will be waiting inside." Donghae waited for Hyukjae to stop coughing, wiped his mouth, kissed his forehead one last time before entering the public sphere, and carried him out. The harsh florescent lights of the hospital greeted him, but no patients did. Luckily, this entrance was clear of any potential fan or reporter.

Once inside, the doctors rolled out the stretcher and helped Donghae lie Hyukjae down. He was awake now, his eyes focusing on what was going on around him. The doctors took the blanket from him and rushed him into a nearby corridor. Donghae tried to follow, but a nurse stopped him.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in there. We need to ask you and your friends a few questions first, alright?" She pointed in the direction they were meant to head. Yesung and Kyuhyun immediately followed, but all Donghae could see was Hyukjae being taken into a room down a long corridor, alone.

"Sir?" The nurse tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Donghae turned to face her.

"Can I see him?"

"Once we answer these questions. They need to know what they're dealing with, and you're helping them. You're helping your friend sir, this isn't an interrogation." She smiled, slightly pushing him in the direction Yesung and Kyuhyun were walking. Donghae gulped, taking one last look at the hallway. Hyukjae was out of sight. Reluctantly, he smiled back at the nurse and followed the other two.

Helping my friend. Helping my friend. No. 

I will support you, my everything, I will always support you. Hyukjae, I love you.

________

a/n: this is a bit of a filler chapter, more explaining and 'plot progression' if you will in the next two chapter! thank you so much for reading, i really appreciate it! feedback is (as always) much appreciated, but as long as you're enjoying the story i'm happy! thank you so much!