[CONTENTID1]HECTIC - PENELOPE'S POV[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]The next few days were hectic. I knew my parents knew of my involvement in the heists or at the very least suspected it. I also knew they were dying to confront me but there was so much mess to clean up, they had no time for me. So, I kept myself busy as well. I studied hard for my final exams that were coming the following week. I'd yet to tell my friends of my choice of college but that could wait.

"Sup, ," Cleo uttered as she burst into my room with Suyun behind her. They walked over to my bed, threw their bags onto the floor and crawled onto my mattress to sit themselves near me. "Whatcha doin?"

"Smoking pot," I replied and she rolled her eyes. "Studying which you two should also be doing."

"That's actually one of the reasons we're here," Suyun said, taking her school books out of her bag. "You're always so focused when you study, maybe you'll rub off on us." We sat in silence, each of us doing personal revision of our notes. It was only half an hour into the session when Cleo groaned in boredom.

"Let's take a break," I suggested and they nodded eagerly. We closed our books and turned so that we were facing one another. Now was the time to tell them. "So...your acceptance choices. What were they?"

"Parsons for sure," Cleo grinned, clapping happily. "NYC, baby!"

"What about you, Suyun?" I asked.

"The same," she squealed and they clapped together. "What did you choose, Pen?"

"I chose-" someone knocked on the door, cutting me off. "Come in." The door opened, revealing our guy friends from school. They entered noisily, their bodies filing into my room. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Study sesh," Baekhyun replied, plopping down on the floor and opening up a book. The others did the same and silence fell across my bedroom. It was so surreal, seeing the boys work away. It was also adorable. I reopened my book and started studying. An hour passed and me and Luhan were working together, him quizzing me on Chinese and me quizzing him on calculus. 

"Hey, have your parents said anything to you yet?" Chanyeol asked and I looked up from my notes, shaking my head.

"They're too busy trying to fix the mess we made," I replied, grinning. I glanced at Cleo and saw she kept looking from her phone to her boyfriend, and back. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure this colour suits him," she mumbled, focused on the pink palette on her screen. "It does. Good, I didn't want to change my dress again. What colour is yours?"

"Like, ivory but with tiny jewels all over it," I told her, thinking of my beautiful gown. I couldn't wait for prom. The dancing, the king and queen election, the inevitable tears and the after party that was bound to happen. "Are getting a limo?"

"Two hummers," she corrected. "Given these idiots actually find themselves dates."

"Um, excuse me! I'll have you know I've got a date," Kris chimed in, nibbling on his pencil. Both him and Luhan had dates now, Cassie and Tanya. Kai was obviously going with me, Cleo with Chanyeol and Suyun with Chen. Baekhyun had been asked by multiple guys and girls but the guy he liked, Reagan Thompson, had yet to come forth. In case I wasn't clear before, Baek was biual. 

"The rest of you need to get on it," Cleo said, narrowing her eyes at them as she pointed her index finger. 

"Yeah, bro, get on it," Suyun teased and Sehun stuck his tongue out at her. "I don't know how you're gonna find anyone with that face of yours."

"Well, you managed to find a date and god knows he made you ugly," her brother retorted and laughter erupted in the room. "Besides, I don't need a date."

"What? Yes, you do! It's prom!" Baekhyun gasped, throwing a hand over his heart. "We're not gonna be those people that go 'as friends' just coz they can't find dates. It's pathetic."

"Harsh," Xiumin chuckled. "C'mon, Sehun. You could easily find a date. I won't repeat this so enjoy it...you're attractive. Get yourself a date." Sehun laughed and leaned back on his arms, crossing his legs. 

"We all know he's hot, it's not exactly shocking news," Cleo snorted and Chanyeol pouted cutely at her. She grinned and pinched his cheek. "You're hotter, baby." They kissed and Chen gagged, making the rest of us laugh. "Pen, you should go with him."

"Hell no, she's mine," Kai scoffed, throwing an arm over me as he got onto my bed. I giggled and nuzzled into his side. "Sorry, bro, I'm not sharing." Sehun chuckled at him. Our eyes met and he winked at me. My heart fluttered and I forced myself to look away. "Enough about prom. What are we doing for senior week?"

"Now we're talking!" Tao exclaimed, sitting upright. "It has to be big. We need to leave our mark on that school."

"Agreed," Luhan said, nodding. "And why do just one thing? Let's do a bunch!"

"I want a slip n slide in the hallway!" Chen grinned, rubbing his hands mischievously. "And we need to TP the entire cafeteria."

"We should hire a mariachi band to follow the principle around," Suho suggested.

"Or Mrs Smith," Suyun said.

"Didn't she quit?" Sehun asked. Kai and I glanced at each other and burst out laughing. The others looked at us as if we were crazy.

"She did but apparently she's back," Suyun informed us. "Oh! We should put post-its all over her car then wrap it in cling-film." We continued to discuss the details of senior week, laughing and joking as teens did. It wasn't until much later that we calmed down, all of us lying down somewhere in my room.

"What do you think's gonna happen when we go off to university?" Kyungsoo asked sleepily, his head on Kris' lap. 

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "I hope we'll still keep in touch."

"Growing up is scary as ," Sehun sighed, running a hand through his rainbow-blonde coloured hair. "I used to think we had all the time in the world to be kids. Now, most of us are 18 and in a few months, we'll all be getting on with our own lives."

"I don't even want to imagine my life without that ," Chen muttered, nodding at Xiumin. The other male smirked and blew him a kiss. "Everything's gonna change."

"I got accepted into a top dance school in Chicago," Kai said, almost to himself. "For the last few years, I've planned my life around my mother's disease. Now I'm going to be pursuing my own dream and I feel nervous, excited and guilty all at once."

"I'm going back to China to study business," Luhan told us. "I need to familiarise myself with the roots of my family's business before I take over."

"I'm gonna study dance in the same dance school as Kai," Lay smiled, hugging a pillow to his chest. "I want to be a performer."

"I don't know what I want," Sehun sighed, then corrected himself. "No, that's not true. I know what I want, the two just don't mix."

"Then make them mix," Cleo said. "Don't conform to just one thing if it's not all you want. You're gonna have to live with yourself for the rest of your life, don't make it a miserable existence." Her words reminded me of what Henrietta had told me. "If the paths don't cross, make a new one. Who said you can't be the CEO of an oil company that also owns a dance studio?" Sehun seemed to be deep in though