Thunder boomed so loudly that it shook the entirety of Chanyeol's house. Were his roof to collapse, he'd have no protection from the wood, wires, and rainwater, for he had thrown his bed sheets off of his body early on in the hot night. Now, at 3:56 a.m. according to his bleary-eyed reading of his digital alarm clock, Chanyeol was greeted with the smell of rain and burnt flesh.

Hissing as he sat up and kicked off the blankets that were bunched at his feet, Chanyeol reached up to inspect the harm that had been done to his clothing and his body. It was dark, but the bluish moonlight and occasional flash of lightening helped him to see small tears in his button up shirt. He didn't need light to know that there were scratches on his skin as well.

Slowly, the young man peeled off the long-sleeved cotton shirt which had taken the most damage. Beneath it was a black undershirt that wasn't shy on trying to remain pressed against his body. Apart from being dampened by sweat, the fluffy fabric had gotten stuck where his injuries were trying to heal. The cringe-inducing feeling of disturbing new scabs and the irritation over losing his only matching pajamas were bad feelings to wake up to. As he got up to flick on his light and saw ash underneath his nails and littering his floor, he was rid of all ideas that he might go back to sleep, so he set about cleaning up.

He usually got up at around five to do his morning routine, so this would barely be an hour's difference. The fact that he'd only fallen asleep at one a.m. was just something else he'd have to deal with. He recalled a saying that went something like, "If you sleep four hours a night, you'll get into a university." Chanyeol shrugged his shoulders and thought he might as well clean and study to make use of his extra time and hopefully maintain a strong standing in his school.

Currently a university student, Chanyeol was free of the stress of trying to look good on applications, but he now had to worry about keeping up with his classes, so time chopped off of his sleeping schedule was both a curse and a blessing. He was glad to have extra time to put the finishing touches on some assignments and then make himself presentable, but he worried that he'd be groggy during class. That, and he'd probably be at least a little freaked out over his recurrent burning in the night.

Again, he supposed that was just something he'd have to deal with.

Even with the loud thunder outside and his lack of sleep, Chanyeol managed to get up, change his bed set, fill in a few more pages in a class journal, and even tidy up parts of the house other than his room before he headed to shower. His time in the tub was short, but he did what he needed to do and, after a little more running around the house and getting ready, he was headed out.

Walking along the street in the early morning was somewhat lonely. Seeing as the air was still cool for the time being and all the clouds in the sky were pretty, Chanyeol didn't mind the feeling of emptiness that had been rising inside him. He bounded along with his hands in his pockets, avoiding puddles and trying to keep his mind off of how he was basically a living oven.

Those tasks proved quite difficult on campus. Chanyeol was an expressive person, so much that people had learned to watch him during the more boring moments of class in hopes of seeing an amusing face or movement. On this particular day, their hopes weren't lost on the fidgety boy.

One second he'd be sitting perfectly still with a concentrated look on his face, the next he'd be scooting from side to side in his chair and wincing like he had an itch that he couldn't get to if he wanted to keep a decent reputation. The poor boy's heart was jerking beneath his flesh and bones, and his stomach wasn't doing too well either. He kept asking himself why his sparky soul was so suddenly acting up. Why, on such a random day, and when he had things to do? Seriously, why?

Chanyeol's inner self provided him with no answers and he had to sit through the remainder of his third morning class before he could go try and do something about his predicament. Luckily, the break he had after this particular class was longer than any other, and the majority of the campus happened to be clear of students. Having professors who chose to hold their classes at odd times was a plus at the moment.

So, through the empty courtyard Chanyeol strolled- speed-walked, in fact. The nervous bellyaching he was going through while trying not to spontaneously combust was not unlike something that could be relieved by pepto-bismol. Unfortunately, there was no cure known to him for what was happening with his body, and there would be no coming back from catching fire in a public place.

Too bad Chanyeol scraped his shoe against the ground a little too roughly and flames began to rise up from his socks.

"Ah! No!" he shrieked, stooping and smacking his own leg with all the force and speed he could muster. "You, ah- just stop! Oh my- Hey, oh my god!" Chanyeol didn't seem able to get any clear sentences across with a mouth that felt dry and a leg that was on fire. Wait- make that a leg and the hand that he was using to pat it down, on fire. That, and his other hand, which hadn't even touched the first flame, but was overtaken by a ball of heat nonetheless.

The flames were nothing big and they barely flicked off of his skin, but anyone around would probably notice the orange glow and the blackness spreading from the hem of his pants leg. As it happened, there was a pair of rather intrusive young men behind a bunch of pillars in the courtyard who were measurably shocked by Chanyeol's apparent flammability.

As Chanyeol patted himself down and let out a stream of whispers and shouts, one guy cursed quietly and his friend looked at him. "What the hell?" the first guy asked, his eyes fixed on Chanyeol.

"Really, though," his friend said, not supplying an answer, but recognizing their shared confusion.

"But no, like," the first one continued, "did he have a machine or something? I didn't even see a lighter or anything on his leg, or anything." The other boy ignored that bit of repetition and shook his head.

"Me neither," he said.

"Sh... should we ask him what he did?"

"No!"

"Ah... ok, but why not?"

"He just caught on fire with no kind of tool. We're not going up to him, that's dangerous!"

"Yeah, you're right. But what do we do?"

"We follow him."

At just that moment, Chanyeol got his flames under control and plopped down on a bench. The guys behind the pillars shrank further into the darkness and hushed their already quiet words. They silently watched as the other young man pulled out his phone and hurriedly pressed a few buttons.

"Sehun, Sehun!" Chanyeol barked into his phone, neglecting any formal greeting. "I'm freaking out, man!" Sehun scoffed on the other end and asked what Chanyeol was going on about. "Do you remember talking about how weird stuff has been going on? Well, things just got worse! Sehun, I..." After whisper-yelling every word up til now, Chanyeol finally had the sense to quiet down. The pillar men strained to hear.

"Are you alone right now?" Chanyeol asked his friend, "No one else can hear me, right?" Sehun assured him that was so. The students in the courtyard snickered to themselves. "Ok, well I... I can catch on fire."

Sehun's laughing could be heard over the phone. Chanyeol snapped for him to shut up. "Hey," the tall boy said, "I don't mean in general, like I'm just calling you to tell you that I'm not flame retardant!" Sehun kept laughing, and so did the boys behind the columns, though they kept quiet. "Man, I should have just called Baekhyun... But seriously, I'm barely keeping from catching on fire right now and I really don't think I can walk home like this. Do you know anyone who can give me a ride?"

"I don't know," Sehun told him, his voice finally steady and serious, "We've all got to get back to class in a little while, but I'll try to find someone." He bit his lip and moved his phone over to his other hand. "Do you think you'll be able to control it in a car, either? I mean, that's a pretty crazy thing to bring into someone's vehicle..."

Chanyeol had trouble figuring out whether Sehun was taking him seriously, but he couldn't dwell on the doubt. "I don't know, but I guess we could act like it's a prank or something? Try to find someone nice! Please?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll try. Sit tight and I'll call you once I've got someone who's willing to go. If you decide to do something else, tell me, ok?" If Chanyeol wasn't still acting like he had ants in his pants, he might have taken note of how well Sehun was handling the situation, but the young brunette was focused on the burden of getting home without causing serious destruction.

"Ok," he replied, bouncing his knee and glancing around. With that, they hung up, not forgetting polite phrases at the end of the call. Chanyeol stood and made for the front of the school building, two strangers had a little chat before wandering slowly after him, and Sehun stood up with a sigh.

"Wow," the blond breathed, tapping his phone against his chin thoughtfully. He gnawed at his lip and the habit that some girls considered cute was starting to become the source of slight disfigurement. He stopped only when he felt a pang of pain, and he started skimming through the contacts in his phone for a trustworthy person. No one stood out to him and he was quickly filling with dread over not being able to help his friend when an idea popped into his head.

In the small bag he carried at school, there was a bundle of papers and utensils that Sehun considered useful. The day before, he had stuffed a bit of cash and other things in so that he might have a nice lunch. With those things was a little white card that the blond rushed to find. When he got his hands on the paper, there was a light in his eyes that was more than just the reflection of his phone's screen. With one hand holding the card and the other keeping his phone up as he tapped the screen, Sehun took in a deep breath.

"Hello? Is this Luhan? Oh, thank goodness... I know this is out of the blue, but I need a favor..."

-

Chanyeol was known to be quite an entertaining guy, and all of his friends assured everyone else that he really was fun to talk to. His handsome looks along with his rumored bubbly personality made for some imposing expectations of him, and the nervous wreck in the back of Luhan's car was not living up to what Sehun had told the other blond over the phone.

"So..." Luhan began, flicking his eyes up to have a look at the tall, squirmy boy in the rearview, "Where exactly do you want to go?" He spoke slowly and noted how Chanyeol's face got more and more scrunched up with every look that Luhan took in the mirror.

"Home would be nice," Chanyeol answered, turning the ends of his mouth up in a millisecond-long smile. "I can tell you which way to go once we leave the school zone." Luhan nodded his head and patted his hands on the steering wheel.

"Sure, sure," he breathed before closing his mouth and pursing his lips to one side. As the straight road leading away from Chanyeol's campus came to an end, Luhan began to handle himself about as awkwardly as Chanyeol had been the whole time. "But you know..." the blond said slowly, "I could take you to meet a friend of mine who I think could help with your situation..."

Chanyeol squinted, "Um, no... No, I'm ok." 'And I wasn't aware you knew anything about my 'situation',' he thought to himself as he snorted and looked out the window. The trees and buildings were passing by noticeably slower and he unconsciously began to rub his knees in a bout of nervousness.

"No, no, really," Luhan insisted, biting his bottom lip, strumming his fingers on the steering wheel and trying to come up with the best words to keep the kid calm and informed. When he couldn't think of a perfect way to say what he wanted to say, Luhan turned the wheel and pulled to a stop on the side of the road, deciding to come right out with it. As he loosened his seat belt and turned around, he saw Chanyeol hitch back his shoulders and sink into the seat of the car, undoubtedly about to freak out.

"Listen," Luhan spoke firmly, "I know you have fire powers."

In a second, Chanyeol left his squished imprint on the seat and was leaning forward with his jaw dropped.

"What! Did Sehun seriously tell you that?" Then he realized what an odd response that was to Luhan's claim and he leaned back again, tossing his head and adding, "Because, like, that's so not true." The blond in the front couldn't help but laugh at that reaction.

"I have a power, too," he said, "and I was able to figure out you control fire all on my own. Sehun doesn't even know I have a power, so he avoided telling me about yours. Do any of your other friends have them?" Luhan realized he was being quite forward, but he was both excited to find more people like him and interested in helping Chanyeol get used to the supernatural. Chanyeol was antsy as ever in the back.

"No... At least I don't think so," the brunette said, his facial expressions making his confusion clear. It seemed like his eyes were out of control as they went back and forth from being thoughtful slits and widening with worry beneath his tightly scrunched eyebrows. He had heard of people feeling butterflies in their stomachs, and he had gone through the same thing before, but at the moment it seemed like the heart in his chest had become a panicked winged creature instead.

"That's alright." Luhan's voice brought Chanyeol's focus back to him. The older boy kept his eyes on the road as he nonchalantly said, "But I wouldn't be surprised if more of you had them. I mean, in just this area there are four of us so far, but my friend and I don't really associate with too many other people, so it would make more sense if you knew more special kids than just you and Sehun." As Luhan prattled on, Chanyeol's jaw went slack.

"Is this a dream?" the college boy suddenly questioned, flopping back against the seat. Luhan set his momentarily thin-eyed, judgmental gaze on the boy and was silent long enough for his disbelief in Chanyeol's question to settle in.

"No," the blond huffed. Chanyeol said "oh" and went quiet for a few moments himself before an upheaval of something inside him sent him thrashing forward. He flew forward and slapped one hand against the drivers seat, the other squished beside his once again hanging jaw.

"Sehun has powers, too?!" he screeched, his eyes and mouth wide O's. In an uncontrollable response to Chanyeol's shock and loud question, Luhan's grip tightened on the steering wheel. 'I can read minds and I didn't think to check whether this kid knew about the other kid's abilty?' Luhan snapped in his head. Then the car lurched to a stop and, in a flurry of motion, the blond was out of the car.

"Hahaha!" he forced a laugh as he started up the stairs outside of Lay's home, "We're here, let's go meet my friend!" Chanyeol took a second to recover from seeing Luhan speed away like that before unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car as well. They made their way up the stairwell, Luhan alternating between taking quick steps and slow looks back at the self-conscious Chanyeol. When they reached the door, Luhan unlocked it and pranced in and Chanyeol wandered in like a lost puppy soon after.

"Oh, Luhan-" Lay started up, turning away from the tea he was stirring to look over his shoulder and welcome his friend home. He stopped moving and talking when his eyes found someone he didn't know.

Having noticed Lay's confusion over the stranger, Luhan closed the front door with one hand and used the other to gesture from one man to the next. "Lay, this is Chanyeol. Chanyeol, this is Lay. Lay's my friend with powers. Chanyeol is a kid with powers who I just met. Happy day."

"Oh." was all Lay said as he wrapped his fingers tighter around the cup in his hands.

"Yeah." Chanyeol cleared his throat, gazing off to the side.

Luhan was the only one who appeared content with the current state of affairs.