After some simple preparation, we had plenty of fruits and vegetable chopped up as well as various sandwich options. Mom decided simple would be good for lunch because she would be prepping for a large dinner. With Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s help, we carried everything outside to the large table we had under the awning. Baekhyun was the first to notice the food and so the first out of the pool. I watched as they all crowded the table, clutching at what they wanted as though they’d been starving. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, knowing the others would attack the food first, prepared theirs and left it inside.

“I should have done the same,” I whispered to myself.

“What was that?” Suho asked with an apple slice in his mouth.

“Nothing,” I replied with a smile.

He smiled back and turned to continue eating. I didn’t realize how intently I was watching the boys until I felt a slight nudge on my arm. Turning my head I found Chanyeol with a warm smile, his mouth full as he held a sandwich out to me.

“Soo and I thought we’d make you a sandwich,” he paused to swallow what he had in his mouth, “We knew they’d probably take everything.”

Dumbfounded, I reached out and took the sandwich. My confused expression only made his smile break into a broad grin, Kyungsoo walking over with a half-eaten sandwich in his hands. He saw my confused expression and became concerned.

“Is everything okay? Is it not what you wanted?”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you so much!” I replied excitedly, biting into the sandwich.

He was definitely very motherly. From what I’d learned while we prepped the food, he and another member of the group (who would be arriving in just a couple of days) Lay were the ones who always cooked for the group. He and Chanyeol told me stories of their lives in Korea. Apparently they had all lived together in dorms at a performing arts school. The reason they had been signed up for the exchange student program was so they could come here to have what was considered a “normal high school experience.” Needless to say, they were all exceptionally excited.

I made my way to one of the many chairs we had outside, sitting in one and breathing a sigh of relief. Being around them was starting to get easier, especially now that Chanyeol and Kyungsoo had opened up to me a bit. Baekhyun and Kai plopped down in the chairs to my sides, both of their mouths full of food still.

“Thank you for lunch,” Baekyhun spoke after swallowing his food.

“It’s no problem at all.”

“Are you sure? That was an awful lot of food,” Kai interjected.

“I’m sure,” I began, “Mom and I had everything ready for you guys to get here today.”

That seemed to reassure the two of them, the sound of water splashing taking everyone’s attention.

“Ya!” Baekhyun yelled, standing suddenly and rushing to the side of the pool, “Suho! Don’t you know you’re supposed to wait after you eat to swim?”

“That’s an old wives tale, Baek!”

“It’s no wonder he knows it, then,” Sehun called jokingly.

Baekhyun’s eyes flew to Sehun, who simply smiled innocently. Laughter came from the rest of the group, and a giggle came from me.

“You’re supposed to respect your elders, maknae!” He replied matter-of-factly.

The group continued laughing as Baekhyun turned and kept yelling for Suho to get out of the pool for fear of cramps. Kai shot out of his chair and ran up behind the boy, taking his attention just before pushing him in. The group erupted into laughter again, Kai turning and grinning triumphantly as Baekhyun surfaced and panicked out of the pool.

Before he started into Kai, I stood up and headed inside. Quickly I made my way upstairs and to my room. I dug my swimsuit out of my closet and headed into my bathroom to change. Once changed I looked into the mirror. I frowned and quickly exited and fished a pair of running shorts and a slightly large wife-beater to wear over my swimming attire. As I left my room, I paused at the closet we kept towels in and grabbed enough for everyone to use.

By the time I made it outside, the boys were in the pool again, this time joined by Kyungsoo as well. Chanyeol sat away from the pool under the awning.

“Are you sure you don’t want to swim, Chanyeol?”

He looked up at me, startled for a moment, and then shrugged. I tilted my head slightly, thinking. I set the towels down on the table next to us and then took my place in the seat beside him.

“Aren’t you going to swim? You changed and everything,” he trailed.

He almost sounded guilty.

“I can’t just leave you to sit up here by yourself. That wouldn’t be very kind of me.”

I smiled brightly at him and he seemed unsure for a moment before returning the smile. We turned and looked at the group silently, laughing occasionally when the time called for it. It was hot, but not uncomfortably so. The wind carried the occasional cool breeze by, which helped a lot. After a good fifteen minutes, Chanyeol turned his head to me.

“You can go and swim, if you want,” he said, “I feel bad for keeping you here.”

I shook my head, frowning.

“It’s no problem, really. I’d feel bad leaving you up here by yourself.”

“Then I’ll go change and then you can swim.”

“No,” I ushered, “You don’t need to feel obligated to do something if you don’t want to.”

He paused for a moment, puffing his cheeks up in frustration before letting the air out in a sigh. He leaned back in his chair, defeated. Truth is, I had wanted to swim. However, my want to sit up here so Chanyeol wasn’t by himself was more than my want to jump in the pool.

“I’ll repay your kindness,” he interrupted, “Somehow.”

“I don’t want anything in return.”

He glanced over to me, his dark eyes analyzing me. His hair had fallen into his eyes and I watched him reach up and push it back before he looked back to the pool.

“You’re too nice. You have a heart just like Baek and Soo.”

My eyes returned to the pool, Baekhyun latching onto Sehun’s arm as Suho grabbed at him to pull him under. I giggled as I watched Kai and Kyungsoo attack Suho, pushing him under the water with ease. The sound of thunder in the distance took my attention then. The boys all stopped, looking around frantically. Baekhyun was the first one out of the water. Before I knew it he was standing next to me, grabbing a towel to dry himself with.

Each of the other boys followed suit, Kai and Sehun taking the other two chairs and Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Suho sitting on the ground. Chanyeol and I had offered our seats to the boys on the ground, but none of them would take it. A quiet conversation began and over the course of about ten minutes, a storm had started to roll in. I hadn’t noticed it until an explosion of thunder shook me. I yelped and hid my face in my hands, dropping my head to my knees.

“We should probably head inside,” Suho suggested.

The boys agreed and began to head to their house, where they could change. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun led me to my door, waiting until I was inside and waving them off before they ran after the others to catch up before the rain hit.

“I hope this passes quickly,” mom said behind me.

I only nodded, my eyes never leaving the dark clouds that were blocking out the sun. I didn’t like storms. There was something about their raw, natural power that absolutely terrified me.

“You should change.”

Mom’s voice snapped me out of my trance and I only nodded, turning away from my fear and rushing upstairs. I changed back into what I had worn that morning, yelping only once as the storm exclaimed its presence. I exited my bathroom and walked over to my bed, flopping down onto it face first. I breathed deeply once, slowly releasing the air as I closed my eyes. I was more than exhausted, but I still had at least half a day left before I could rest.

A knock at my door startled me and I jumped, my heart beating in my chest like a drum. It reminded me of this morning when I had awoken from my strange dream. Now, however, I couldn’t remember it as vividly.

“Come in!” I called.

The door opened slowly and I was met with the faces of Sehun and Baekhyun. They glanced around sheepishly at first, unsure if they should really enter.

“It’s okay, you know.”

With this reassurance, the door opened wider and they walked in. They looked around the room in awe. I had various videogame and movie posters on the walls. One wall held a large corkboard full of photos, memories I’d wanted to keep forever. They were drawn to it almost immediately. Before I could explain, Kyungsoo appeared in the doorway, smiling kindly as I waved for him to enter. And just like a moth to a flame, he too was taken by my photo wall.

“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to remember,” I explained, pushing myself off my bed. “It’s a collection of pictures my parents and I have taken.”

After a few seconds of looking at the photos, Sehun turned and grinned, pointing to one of me on a swing set when I was about five years old.

“You were so cute as a child!” He beamed.

I blushed at his compliment, looking down at the ground to hide my face.

“Oh look! You did that when you were younger too!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

I looked at the photo he pointed to. I looked to be about eight. I was looking down at the ground to hide my face. My hair was pulled back in the photo, so you could still see my ears had turned red. I giggled at the comparison. I really hadn’t changed much since then.

“Lilah!”

I turned my head suddenly, startled by my mother’s call.

“I’ll be right back,” I muttered quickly before walking out of my room and down the stairs.

When I entered the kitchen mom turned to me and pointed to a bowl on the island.

“Could you help me out for a minute? I need you to knead that dough while I finish cutting up vegetables.”

I smiled in reply, happily walking over and washing my hands. After drying them, I went to the island and pulled the dough out of the bowl, placing it on the flour coated counter and beginning to knead it. After some time, the three boys who I had left in my room (and who I’d momentarily forgotten about) appeared. They crowded around the island, watching me carefully as I worked. A few minutes of silence passed before mom said I was good to go. I left the dough, like she had said, and turned to the sink to wash my hands. Once I dried them, I headed out to the living room, Sehun, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo following me.

“Do you guys want to play video games?”

The unanimous reply of excitement answered the question instantly. As we passed the front door, a knock rang out. I quickly rushed over and opened it to meet the other three. I moved immediately to let them inside so they could be sheltered from the rain. I closed the door and we all met in the living room.

“I have various systems, so whatever you guys want to play,” I trailed.

Chanyeol, Suho, and Kai caught on to what the plans were and immediately discussions began. After a final decision on Mario Kart was made, it was started. Dad came home around five, each of the boys nervously saying hello and introducing themselves. The boys seemed to feel less intimidated by him when he insisted on joining in the Mario Kart festivities.

Around six, mom had finished dinner and everyone crowded into the kitchen to get food. We ate in the living room since our dining room wasn’t large enough to house everyone. Dad retired almost immediately after dinner as he had to work early the next morning. I told mom I’d do the dishes since I knew she was tired and would also have to work the next day.

Kyungsoo insisted on helping me with the dishes, so we left the other boys to video games as we worked on the chore. It went by quickly with his help and I thanked him graciously. We returned to the living room to find everyone in the same place we’d left them.

“We should watch a movie,” Kai suggested.

I was exceptionally tired and I think Kyungsoo could tell, but before he could interject or think of an excuse, I agreed. After a good ten minute discussion it had been decided that we would be watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, much to the displeasure of myself and Baekhyun.

I sat on the couch with Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kai. Sehun, Suho, and Kyungsoo sat at our feet with pillows. Every time something scary happened, Baekhyun and I would jump and exchange looks of displeasure. It wasn’t that I was necessarily scared of these movies, but they could be scary when they wanted to be. At one point during the movie, Baekhyun got so startled that he jumped, pushing his knee into the back of Sehun’s head. After a couple minutes of profusely apologizing and me rushing to the kitchen to make an ice pack, the movie was going again.

When it ended, the boys said their sleepy goodbyes and headed out. Before he left, I scribbled my number down on a piece of paper and handed it to Kyungsoo. I hadn’t been made aware if they had cell phones or not, but just in case I wanted them to have my number. I told him that they could come over whenever they wanted tomorrow, if they wanted to. He nodded sleepily and left.

After turning all the lights off and picking up the living room, I headed upstairs. I changed into pajamas and immediately flopped down onto my bed, falling asleep almost instantly.