It had taken just under two hours but they’d finally arrived. The weather outside was bright but not too hot and was perfect for outdoor activities. There was a chance that you could get a little sunburnt but at least it wasn’t raining.

Sehun turned to the side, looking down at the still snoozing Luhan. He smiled, admiring the older boy’s perfect features – his long eyelashes, his cute little nose and those oh-so kissable lips…

‘Stop it, Sehun,’ he told himself, ‘This is bad. This is really bad. You should know better than to be creeping over a boy you haven’t even known for a whole week yet.’

He pulled himself together, sitting up properly and removing his arm from around the light-haired boy’s shoulders. His hand moved forward, as if to Luhan’s cheek, but he resisted and just tapped the boy’s knee lightly.

“Luhan,” he whispered, “Come on. Wake up. We’re here now.”

Luhan’s eyebrows furrowed into a slight frown and he groaned quietly, not happy about being awake. His eyes flickered open slowly, squinting at the sunlight from the window. Sitting up, he stretched his arms above his head, yawning. He looked over to Sehun who was still smiling at the older boy. He suddenly focused on a small wet patch on Sehun’s shirt and realised that he’d been drooling lightly in his sleep.

“Oh my God,” the older male’s eyes widened, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

He reached over and tried to dry the shirt with his long sleeve, rubbing at the small patch frantically. Sehun chuckled and grabbed Luhan’s wrist.

“It’s fine,” he reassured the shorter one, “It’ll dry. Don’t worry so much.”

A dull blush tainted Luhan’s features, embarrassed about what he’d done. Sehun stood up, pulling the other boy with him, and picked up his bag from the floor. Luhan mirrored him and the two made their way off the coach, out into the almost blinding sunlight.

Once all of the students were off the vehicles, the teachers instructed them to go and collect their suitcases, which were slowly being unloaded by the drivers, and to wait outside the front doors of the centre. The pupils did what was asked of them and waited outside the venue, each with a small suitcase and another bag. The girls were chattering amongst themselves, talking about what their dorm rooms could be like and gossiping about the possibility of seeing the boys in very little clothing. They assumed that, because it was quite warm, some of the male members of the student body would prefer to go without shirts at times or, at least, with light vest tops and shorts. The boys, on the other hand, were talking about what sort of activities they could be doing. Luhan was still freaking out about anything to do with heights, Kris and Sehun attempting to calm the poor boy down, and Chanyeol was bouncing around excitedly, grabbing Baekhyun’s arm as he did.

Seeing that everyone had collected their belongings and after all of the coaches had been checked for any remaining bits and bobs lying around, Miss Liu made her way to the double doors of the centre, occasionally leaping over some suitcases that obstructed her path.

“Alright, guys, listen up,” she called to the mass of enthusiastic teenagers, “You all need to follow me into the main hall of this building and sit down. You can keep your suitcases and bags with you, if you want, or you can leave them at the side, by the walls. We’ll sort out dorm rooms and then we’ll let you go and unpack. Okay, follow me.”

She turned and pushed the doors open, holding them for the students directly behind her. It was only a short walk to the hall, a few metres in fact. The building was decorated with large wooden logs on the outside, covering the brick foundations, with plastered walls on the inside. Hard carpet covered the floors of the entrance area and the main hall, a dull red colour with speckles of blue and indigo dotted throughout, much like the unattractive designs of bus seats. Large wooden doors, varnished to an adequate level, separated the different sections of the building and the windows were of the same design. It had a very woodland feel, typical of a youth hostel. Vending machines decorated the walls, some packed with unhealthy snacks and drinks and others offering a more healthy option such as bagged fruit or vitamin water.

It took a few minutes but, eventually, everyone was settled into the hall, the teachers at the front and the pupils sat on the slightly uncomfortable flooring, their bags beside them or lined up against the walls. They silenced themselves once the teachers began to explain the dorm arrangements, knowing that it was vital for them to pay attention. If they didn’t, they’d be wandering throughout the halls, lost and confused as to where they were meant to go.

“As you may have heard, we have chosen your dorm rooms for you and they are based on your form groups so, thanks to the team-building exercises of the past two days, you should know at least one person in your dorm. There should be no reason for any complaints about the rooming arrangements and, for example, if one of the girls in your dorm is dating your ex and you hate her guts, tough luck. Just talk to the other girls instead. Same goes for the boys too. No complaining. This is what this trip is about – getting on with people and learning to enjoy each and every situation to the best of your ability,” Mr. Park explained, turning to Mr. Lee to continue.

“Now, we’re going to read out who is rooming with whom so make sure you are paying attention. We don’t want people getting confused and fighting over which room they have been placed in. Also, please stay seated until we’ve finished reading out everyone’s dorm rooms. Afterwards, we’ll you to your rooms so you don’t get ridiculously lost. We’ll start with my form, 12D,” Mr. Lee reached over and took the list from Miss Kim’s hand, clearing his throat and beginning to read through the names, “In room 2A, we have Byun Baekhyun, Huang Zitao and Park Chanyeol.”

The BaekYeol couple high-fived each other and Tao sighed in relief. Rooming with the duo meant two things. Firstly, he wouldn’t have to share a room with any strangers or boys he didn’t like very much. Secondly, it meant that he could continue to discuss and sort out the plan of action involving him and a certain tall, blonde male.

The lists continued to be read out, revealing that Kris, Luhan and Sehun would also be rooming together. Sehun had a mini celebration in his head after hearing that he was rooming with Luhan, despite the internal conflict he was facing over the boy in question. Kai, D.O, Xiumin and Chen were also rooming together, as were Suho and Lay. The last two boys blushed a little, feeling slightly self-conscious about sharing a room together, just the two of them. There were five blocks of dorm rooms in total – more than enough for the four classes plus their teachers. Kris, Luhan and Sehun were in the same building as Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Tao, about four doors down from them. It was convenient for them because they could easily slip out of one room and go into the other to talk or hang out. Suho and Lay were in a different building, along with a few of the other boys and the male teachers. The final group of boys (D.O, Kai, Chen and Xiumin) were in yet another building. The female students in the year group had two buildings to themselves, Miss Kim and Miss Liu sharing a room in one of these.

Before the teachers took their bags to their own rooms, they escorted the different groups to each building, making sure that no one got lost. Once each of the buildings had been located and the pupils had hauled their luggage inside, the staff returned to the main hall to collect their belongings and make their way to the dorm rooms that they would be residing in over the weekend.

Kris shoved the key in the lock on their door and twisted it, hearing it click loudly. He kicked the door open and dragged his suitcase in, his carry-on luggage sitting on top of the case. Luhan and Sehun followed him inside, Sehun closing the door behind them, and stood in the middle of the room.

“Which bed do you two want or don’t you mind?” Kris asked, looking around the small room at the layout.

The dorm room was pretty simple, with three single beds, a large wardrobe, a small desk and an en-suite bathroom. The bathroom was fairly tiny, a toilet, a shower and a sink being the only things in there. There was a little shelf over the sink, just under the mirror, but that was the only storage space in the en-suite. The boys concluded that, rather than unpack everything from their suitcase and try to find a way to fit it all into the wardrobe, they’d just leave their belongings in the cases, picking things out only when they needed them.

Kris wheeled his case over to one of the beds and sat down on the mattress, leaving the other, indecisive boys with the two remaining. Kris’s bed was placed side-on, against the wall, whereas the other two were placed so that the head of the bed was up against the opposite wall. Sehun took the bed closest to the back wall and Luhan took the other, closer to the door.

There wasn’t a lot of space to walk between the furniture but they made the best of it. Kris stood up after a minute of resting and picked his suitcase up with ease, practically throwing it onto the bed. He ped it and opened the top, examining the contents.

“Do you think we need to get changed?” he asked, turning to the other two.

Luhan, who was sitting on the foot of his bed with his legs crossed, just shrugged.

“I don’t think so,” Sehun replied, sitting down on his own mattress, “Miss Liu said that we were going to have food before we did any activities so you won’t need to change for the next hour or so.”

Kris nodded and closed his suitcase lid again, sitting back down.

A few moments passed, the boys just looking around and wondering about what the day could hold for them. It became a little awkward, just sitting in silence so Luhan suggested they go and check out Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Tao’s shared room. Sehun and Kris agreed, the three of them standing up and walking out of their dorm, making sure to lock it behind them so no one could get in and steal anything.

The other boys’ dorm was similar to their own, with the same furniture, just arranged in a different way. The bathroom was in the top right corner, rather than the bottom left, and the beds were in altered positions. Tao’s bed was on the right of the room, side-on against the wall with the foot of the bed closest to the door. Baekhyun’s bed was in the top left corner, the head of the bed against the wall. Chanyeol’s was less than a metre from Baekhyun’s in the same direction but slightly closer to the door.

When Luhan, Sehun and Kris entered the room, they walked in on Chanyeol changing. Luhan covered his eyes, embarrassed, and muttered an apology. Chanyeol just laughed. He didn’t mind his friends seeing him shirtless. Baekhyun, on the other hand, threw Chanyeol a top and told him to cover up. The shorter male didn’t like to admit it but he could get very jealous when it came to Chanyeol – he was the only one who was allowed to admire that body.

“What brings you all here?” the hyperactive giant grinned, now equipped with a shirt.

“We just came to see what your room was like,” replied Kris, rushing over to help Tao with his bag. The younger boy looked like he was going to have an accident if he didn’t have two people to haul the heavy object onto his bed.

“Thanks,” Tao mumbled, smiling at the blonde-haired male.

Kris nodded, “No problem.”

Sitting down on his bed, Tao motioned for Kris to join him. Baekhyun had been pulled into Chanyeol’s lap, on the taller boy’s bed, leaving Sehun and Luhan the only ones standing up.

“You can sit down, you know,” Baekhyun announced, gesturing over to his empty bed.

Luhan smiled and pulled Sehun over to sit with him.

“When are we having food?” Chanyeol asked, looking around the room at the other five boys.

Baekhyun looked up at him in disbelief, “You can’t be hungry already. You were eating sweets on the coach for the entire journey!”

“Sweets aren’t food,” Chanyeol objected, “Plus, I’m a growing boy.”

The taller one grinned as Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“If you get any taller, you won’t be able to fit through the door anymore,” the shorter male giggled.

Chanyeol shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that. If you get any taller, I won’t be able to reach up and kiss you anymore,” Baekhyun smirked.

The younger boy’s eyes widened, horror striking his features.

“Oh my God, guys. Don’t let me grow!” he urged the others, completely serious.

They just laughed at him, finding it adorable how worried he was.

Suho placed the last on his shirts in the drawer underneath the wardrobe and turned to Lay, smiling.

“Do you want help unpacking?” he asked politely, walking over to the younger boy who was sitting patiently on his bed, waiting for Suho to finish putting his clothes away.

Lay shook his head, “No, I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?”

The taller male nodded again, “I’m sure.”

“Okay. The bottom drawer’s free for you to use.”

“M’kay,” Lay replied, grabbing a pile of clothes from his suitcase and walking over to the wardrobe, opening the bottom drawer.

The two boys had decided the use the wardrobe section for coats, jackets and shoes, leaving the two drawers underneath for folded clothes. They had railings in the en-suite bathroom for towels and a shelf for things like soap, toothbrushes and shower gel.

Lay turned around to face Suho after a short moment.

“You know, I could switch rooms if you’d prefer to share with someone else,” he mumbled, his voice low and a little nervous.

Suho’s eyes widened at the statement, “But I want to share with you.”

It took a second for him to realise what he’d said and revise it so that he didn’t sound so frantic.

“I mean, I don’t particularly have anyone I’d want to room with instead. So, please, stay here.”

He hoped he didn’t come off as too needy or desperate. The fact of the matter was that Suho wasn’t particularly popular in school and most of the other boys disliked him for being smart and what they called ‘nerdy’. Apparently, being head of the school council wasn’t something that other pupils looked up to but, rather, they made fun of it. Suho hated the idea of rooming with anyone apart from Lay right now. Okay, he did occasionally talk to D.O and the other boys in his group, mainly because D.O was the deputy head of the council, but that didn’t happen that often and he felt more comfortable around Lay anyway. He felt like he could be himself without the other male judging him or making fun of him for anything. Lay was nice. He liked Lay. He liked him a lot, in fact.

Lay nodded, smiling, and continued to pack his clothes into the drawer. He felt glad that Suho wanted to share the dorm with him. His first thought, upon hearing that it was only him and Suho in the room, was that it was going to be super awkward but, now, he’d changed his mind. It wasn’t going to be so bad after all. It might actually be kind of fun, sharing a room with Suho for the duration of the trip.

D.O heard the shower stop and half-expected Kai to come out of the bathroom without a shirt on, his hair still dripping wet as he attempted to dry it off with a towel. D.O thought that Kai was the type to do such a thing. Instead, the younger male stayed in the bathroom, drying himself off and redressing before stepping outside again. He smiled sheepishly at D.O, the two of them being the only ones in the room. Xiumin and Chen had left a few minutes earlier, in search of something sweet and chocolate-y from the vending machines. Kai walked past D.O and went to sit on his bed, pulling his phone out from his bag and unlocking it. He held it up towards the ceiling, as if that would help him get any signal. No such luck. His screen showed no bars at all. He sighed and threw the phone back into the bag pocket.

“There’s no signal in this stupid place,” he muttered under his breath, annoyed.

“Trying to call your girlfriend or something?” D.O joked, smirking.

Kai shrugged, “Yeah, something like that.”

D.O hadn’t expected that answer. His eyes widened and he turned away, not looking at the tanned male any longer. For some strange reason, he felt almost disappointed. His heart hurt, a dull kind of ache throbbing in his chest. He suspected it was jealousy. He hadn’t ever had a girlfriend before and he guessed his heart was yearning for one. Yeah, that must be it.

Kai sighed inwardly, relieved that D.O didn’t question him further about the phone incident. He didn’t want the older boy thinking he was childish. In reality, he had been trying to get in touch with his parents to tell them that he was alright. He knew how much they worried whenever he went anywhere, even if it was just into the city centre to go shopping. They were probably freaking out right now, scared about their little baby, as they saw him still.

The younger of the two stretched, his shirt riding up a little, before flopping back onto the bed. He relaxed into the comfort of the pillow, nuzzling it a little as he to his side. He was facing D.O’s bed, watching as the boy fiddled with the clock on their bedside table. Although he was tempted to, he resisted asking what the older male was doing, still quite nervous about talking to D.O. He seemed like a nice enough boy but he was a little overwhelming sometimes. He liked to ask a lot of questions, one after the other, and reminded Kai of his own mother, as odd as that sounded. It was pretty strange as he’d never had anyone like that in his life before. Sehun was the only friend who had moved to the same college as him and the younger one was pretty childish when he wanted to be. D.O seemed more sensible than Sehun and he acted a lot older too. Kai just wasn’t used to it and he didn’t know how to react to the other boy’s questioning. He hoped, however, that the two would become closer soon. D.O appeared to be a pretty good friend to have and Kai wanted to get to know him. At the moment, though, he just didn’t exactly know how.