Groaning, Suho rolled over and swatted his hand around, hoping (in vain) to hit the alarm clock and to turn the stupid thing off. He opened his eyes a crack and reached over to the clock, hitting the button on the top and finally succeeding in stopping the incessant noise. He exhaled loudly and closed his eyes again, feeling blinded by the morning light. It took a good few minutes before he gathered the strength to haul himself out of his warm, comforting bed.

Sehun opened the fridge, desperate to find something light; something that wouldn’t make him throw up. He was never very fond of eating in the mornings because he always woke up feeling slightly ill. However, he also knew that, if he didn’t eat anything, his stomach would embarrass him by growling in the middle of a morning lesson and drawing all the attention in the room to his reddened face.

Spotting some watermelon on one of the shelves, he picked it out along with the carton of milk and walked over to the counter to cut up bite-sized chunks of the sweet fruit.

“Umma~” Chen called from inside the bathroom.

“Yes? What is it, honey?” his mother replied, walking in to see her son searching the cupboards frantically.

“Where’s the toothpaste?” he asked, confusion clouding his eyes.

His mother raised an eyebrow at him and placed her hands on her hips, one leg bending slightly so she dipped to the left.

“What?” Chen questioned, looking up at her.

She pointed to the windowsill, just behind the sink. The toothpaste was lying there, half-squeezed yet obvious.

“Oh,” Chen said, his mouth forming a small ‘o’ shape, “I didn’t see it…”

His mother smiled and walked back out into the hallway, leaving Chen scratching the back of his neck.

Stepping out of the shower, Kai grabbed a towel from the rack and rubbed his wet hair roughly, spraying water droplets all over the walls and the bathroom mirror. He yawned, rubbing his eyes, and began to dry his body. He still wasn’t properly awake yet. He never is. Not until at least ten. All he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep for the next few hours but he knew this wasn’t possible. He slapped himself on the cheek. Not hard; just enough to keep his eyes from closing again.

“ my life,” he breathed, running the towel down his chest to dry it.

Baekhyun slipped his shirt on, hurrying to fasten the buttons, when he felt strong arms circle his waist.

“Yeollie, not now. You’re going to make us late,” the younger boy whined, not even looking up at his boyfriend.

Chanyeol ignored his protests and leaned down, resting his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder lightly. He sighed, a simple smile gracing his features as he breathed in his lover’s scent.

“But-” the taller began.

“No ‘but’s,” Baekhyun turned around to face Chanyeol, almost finished with his buttons, “Oh, Yeollie! You’re not even dressed yet! Hurry up~” he wailed, pushing the younger's chest before pointing to the bed, where his clothes for the day were already laid out.

Chanyeol’s shoulders slumped. He dragged his feet over to the bed, making pathetic little whinging sounds as he went.

“Stop being such a child,” the older boy muttered, grabbing his tie and draping it around his neck, shirt collar up.

“You’re so mean to me,” Chanyeol sniffled dramatically.

Rolling his eyes Baekhyun replied with a simple “Uh-huh” before returning to his own uniform, fixing his tie and fastening it.

He adjusted his collar and checked his appearance in the mirror. Behind him, he could see Chanyeol’s solemn face as the taller one sulked around. Chuckling to himself, Baekhyun walked over to his boyfriend and held his chin, pulling the younger to face him. He stood up on his toes and gave Chanyeol a short but sweet kiss, smiling sweetly.

“Now, hurry up,” he whispered.

Chanyeol nodded, grinning widely.

“Notebook; check. Pencil case; check. IPod; check. Headphones; check,” Lay spoke out loud as he ran through the items inside his backpack, making sure he’d packed everything he was going to need for the day.

He made one final check and, seeing that he had everything but an umbrella, zipped up the main compartment. Pulling the bag up, he swung it over his shoulder and opened his bedside drawer, grabbing a small, fold-up umbrella and shoving it into the front pocket of the backpack. He closed the drawer again, pulled the zip across the open pocket and exited his bedroom.

Yanking his bag up from its position on the bottom of the stairs, Tao checked that he had his keys and phone before yelling up to his parents, who were still in bed.

“Mom, Dad, I’m leaving now!”

There was no response. Tao shrugged and unlocked the front door.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, pulling the door open in one swift movement.

He jumped back a little, surprised to see Kris standing directly outside, hand poised to knock on the wooden frame. Kris’s eyes widened.

 “Um, hey.”

Tao smiled, “Hey.”

“I thought we could walk together?” his statement sounded more like a question.

Nodding, Tao stepped outside and shut the door behind him, hearing the click of the internal lock.

Xiumin sat waiting at the bus stop, swinging his legs a little underneath his seat. He was humming a random song, watching the vapour of his breath float away up to the skies above. He checked his watch before glancing down the road, looking for his bus.

No luck yet.

If it didn’t hurry up, he was going to be in danger of missing registration. He didn’t want to be late, especially on the first day. That would just single you out as a trouble-maker, even if you weren’t.

He stood up to stretch his arms a little, groaning as he felt the muscles in his back pull, and picked up his messenger bag from the floor. Sitting down again, he placed it on his lap, folding his arms and leaning on the rough material of the bag. His legs started moving again, alternating as he swung, back and forth.

Making a beeline for the only empty seat left on the train carriage, D.O sat down next to a middle-aged woman with wispy hair cascading down her body, easily reaching her waist. He asked if the seat was free and, seeing a nod from the cheery woman, sat down, thanking her. He pulled his phone out and scrolled down his contacts, finding Chen’s number easily. He typed on the keypad, quiet clicking sounds spilling from the speaker.

“Are you there yet?” he wrote, sending it and placing his hands in his lap, cupping the phone protectively.

A few moments later, he received a message telling him that he had a new text. Opening it, he saw that it was Chen’s reply.

“Almost . Bus is taking forever. Stuck in traffic. LOL! :P” it read.

D.O laughed to himself. Only Chen would ‘LOL’ about being stuck in traffic.

Luhan stepped off the bus, fixing his hair and moving out of the way so that the other passengers could get out and on their way to wherever they were all headed. He smiled, looking up at the building in front of him. SM High School and College. He stared up at the large windows, reflecting the light of the sun straight into his eyes. He squinted and moved his hand to shield his face from the rays.

He started to walk forward, up towards the gate and then down the long driveway. Stepping close to the front doors, they opened automatically and he made his way inside the building, warmth hitting his face and bare hands. He bowed to a few of the teachers who walked past, that smile still firmly on his face.

He didn’t care if it meant that he had to do work or exams; he was just happy to be back.