---Justin Bieber---

Luhan and the boy are making out. They’re so caught up in one another that they didn’t hear me go up the stairs and to the room’s door. I came up to check on The Little Prince, which is what Sehun calls Exo-M’s lead singer. Yes, we had gone back to the club, but only because Senshine and Bacon insisted. They didn’t think the party should end merely because some guy they work with got attacked. I was surprised they cared so little about him, but I don’t think a lack of care was entirely why they wanted to go back to the dance floor. I could see regret and anger in Sehun’s eyes; he wanted to get away from Luhan no matter what. When you’re in the middle of nowhere, Wild Country is the only place that makes sense for young people like us to run off to.

They are lying on a lavender bed sheet on the hardwood floor in nothing but their underwear. I know I shouldn’t be looking but since the door is slightly ajar, and a strange desire to know their secrets has taken ahold of me, I do. Their slender bodies glisten with perspiration from the intense heat. I don’t think they know the house has central air-conditioning.

I want to believe they are stripped down to nothing but their boxer-briefs in a weak attempt to stay cool, but Luhan climbs on top of the other. The black box fan in the corner tiredly whirls as the prince lowers his kisses to his lover’s neck. While one of Lu’s hands supports him on top of the boy, the other sensually grabs at his partner’s smooth torso. An alarm rings.

The constant, steady beeping is unmistakable: the smoke detector. I noticed when I first arrived that the oven was on. I know that whatever is in there is burning, but I don’t even try to go and take care of it, as Chanyeol, Senshine, and Bacon are downstairs… along with the two dozen girls Channy invited back from Wild Country for us. I just broke up with my on-again off-again , so the last thing I want tonight is to be with another one. The half- boys in front of me jump up at the sound of intense ringing, and I can’t help but notice the excitement in their underwear. I’m not sure if they’ve seen me or not, so to avoid standing outside like a creeper, I swing the door open and come in.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say. “Bacon will probably put it out.” And as soon as I say that, the alarm shuts off. An awkwardness falls over the room, with the boys standing there, trying to hide the remnants of their gay lust. The short one turns bright red, but Luhan walks toward me, and all.

“Thanks,” he says and I feel pressured to take a few steps back, winding up outside the room. “We’ll be down in a minute.” And with that, he shuts the door in my face.

“Take your time,” I mumble.

There are three bedrooms in the house, one for Bacon, one for Sehun, and one for me. But now that our reality show ventures have joined forces, at least temporarily, the room distribution will be different. Luhan and his lover have already claimed the middle room. I imagine Sehun and Bacon will want to be intimate in the room to the right, so I’ll most likely end up rooming with Chanyeol in the room to the left. I go there to take a look at myself in the mirror. The heat has made me sweaty and I want to make sure my hair hasn’t gone ugly over the humidity. As I confirm that I still look decent enough, I hear a loud hum, signaling that the central air-conditioning system has come to life. I breathe a sigh of relief, since the blatant heat, along with my depression over my break up, was on the verge of making me lethargic. I close the windows so the AC can work properly and feel a bit better knowing that at least now I can brood in freshness.

“Hey, chitlin,” Bacon says from the door way, holding a small camera. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve noticed he has a bad habit of giving people the strangest nicknames, and he never uses the nickname he gives more than once. Just ten minutes ago I was Diet Pop.  “Are you coming down or?” He looks me once over, evaluating me, as if realizing for the first that I have been depressed all night long. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second.” I slip a white snapback hat on, since upon further inspection I’m not pleased with how my hair is behaving and I don’t want to look like a fool once all the footage for the reality show is edited together and it airs. I’m not too concerned, though. Parties are always glossed over on TV; they’re too loud and too long and too not fun to watch. Being drunk and high can be entertaining… watching drunk and high people… not really, unless they’re saying something on a social media site that is ruining their career. Then it somehow becomes entertaining as hell.

“I hope you’re well rested,” Baek says and turns to leave. “There are dozens of girls and aside from Chanyeol, you’re the only other straight guy here.” He chuckles. “I think he’s gonna need your help.”

There is no off switch to superstardom. I slide a pair of black wayfarers onto my face and head down stairs, music suddenly blaring so loud that the bass wiggles up my legs and to my stomach, making me feel nauseous.