Once Iron Man was finished we decided to take a quick break to use the bathroom and recollect drinks and snacks. After about ten minutes we were ready and watching The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. Having read the book, I already knew what was coming. I cried anyway. The boys did too, though it varied from uncontrollable tears to just a few here and there as they tried to hold them back. The movie ended and quickly the boys dispersed, all except for Chanyeol who had hidden himself in his comforter.

 

“I told you guys that movie was sad,” I muttered as I wiped my face with my hands again.

 

“Not that sad.”

 

Chanyeol’s voice was muffled from inside his small cocoon and it made me laugh. He poked his head out, his hair still sticking up randomly here and there. The color in his face had returned a bit and he seemed far livelier than before.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

“Much better,” he replied with a smile.

 

It disappeared when he covered his mouth and coughed. I jumped when my pocked started vibrating and I yelped, scrambling to retrieve my phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hello sweetie,” my mom spoke, “I just wanted to let you know that your father and I will be late tonight. I put some money in your account for dinner. Tell the boys we’re sorry.”

 

“I’m sure they’ll understand,” I ushered, “And you didn’t have to give me money mom.”

 

“I know,” she laughed, “I wanted to.”

 

I frowned. They knew how I was about them giving me money, but I simply sighed.

 

“Okay mom. Thank you,” I smiled, “I love you! You and dad be safe coming home tonight.”

 

“I love you too and we will.”

 

I heard the line go dead and I locked my phone, slipping it back into my pocket. By now the boys had begun reappearing in the living room, their faces early free of the evidence of crying.

 

“Mom and Dad are working late, so we’re just going to order food. What do you guys want?”

 

After a relatively short discussion of what our options were as far as delivery, since I didn’t want to go out into the rain, we came to the decision of pizza. The call to the pizza place was hectic. The original decision of a few simple pizzas turned into a train wreck of the boys yelling in the background things they wanted instead. I apologized profusely to the lady taking my order and she laughed, saying she understood how boys could be. We ended up with five large pizzas coming in, one was a simple pepperoni, one was a meat lovers, one was a chicken, bacon, ranch pizza, one was a veggie lovers, and one had pineapple and Canadian bacon.

 

“What do you guys want to do now,” I asked as I flopped back down between Chanyeol and Sehun.

 

The room was silent for a moment, Tao speaking up.

 

“We could just keep watching movies. It’s been pretty nice not doing anything.”

 

“I agree completely,” Kris spoke excitedly.

 

“It has been nice resting. I’m still exhausted from the flight.”

 

The boys chuckled at Xiumin.

 

“Well then, what do you want to watch?”

 

I watched as they took the time to think and discuss. Tao, Kris, Xiumin, Baekhyun, Sehun, Suho, Chen, and Kai were in a heated discussion of what movies they could watch. Kyungsoo, Lay, Chanyeol, and I remained silent, watching and listening intensely.

Suddenly Chanyeol stood up and bolted out of the room and upstairs. The room quieted for a moment before I stood and rushed after him, worried. I checked his room first, not entirely sure where he had gone. I glanced over to the bathroom door, listening as something fell. Quickly I slipped over, knocking on the door.

 

“Chanyeol, are you okay?”

 

I heard a muffled ‘yeah.’ I stepped away from the door, leaning against the wall across from the bathroom. Baekhyun and Xiumin found me waiting, looking at me with a confused face as they pointed to the door. I simply shrugged. A few seconds later, the door opened and Chanyeol blinked a few times at the small crowd he’d gathered.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

His face turned red and he looked away.

 

“I just thought I was going to be sick for a moment,” he muttered in a rushed manner.

 

I breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“You can’t scare us like that!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

 

“Sorry,” he muttered quietly.

 

I turned and headed back down the stairs, pausing when none of them were following me. I looked back to find them all staring at me, Baekhyun getting embarrassed and looking away. I frowned.

 

“Why do you keep doing that?”

 

He looked back to me.

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Nothing,” I replied slowly, quietly turning and walking downstairs. Baekhyun had been acting weird all day and it was starting to upset me. I didn’t know what I had done, but clearly something about me had been bothering him.

I slipped back into the living room, the heated discussion over. I plopped back down on the couch where I had been.

 

“Are you okay? You look upset?” Sehun asked.

 

“What?” I blinked, “I’m fine!”

 

I was fine. Minus Baekhyun being weird. It was eating at me that maybe I’d done something to upset him.

 

“If you’re sure,” he spoke with a smile.

 

Sehun was definitely overly kind. His smile was warm and confident and he was always pleased with something. I hadn’t heard much of his lisp outside of situations that made him nervous, and even when I had heard it, it was barely noticeable.

 

“I am,” I smiled.

 

There was something about all of the boys that seemed to keep me calm, even though for the most part it was something they said or did that would make me flustered. It wasn’t their fault, though.

Sehun’s attention was taken by Chanyeol flopping back down on the other side of me. I jumped a bit, having not noticed him enter the room.

 

“What are we watching?” He asked excitedly.

 

Before he could get an answer, there was a knock at the door. I hopped up quickly, practically running to the door. I pulled my wallet out before opening the door to greet the pizza man. He smiled kindly. I knew him from school. He was one grade ahead of me. He played football and was extremely popular amongst his class and the ones below.

 

“Oh, Delilah! Hi!”

 

“Hello, James. How are you?”

 

He laughed, holding up my order.

 

“Tired,” he breathed, “Are these all for you?”

 

I shook my head, laughing.

 

“No. My parents are housing exchange students and they wanted pizza, so.”

 

His face changed to a look of surprise.

 

“That’s so cool,” he responded sincerely.

 

“The twelve of them can be a pain though,” I muttered, “Will you please apologize again to the girl who took my order?”

 

He laughed.

 

“That’s a lot of kids to house,” he responded, “And I’ll be sure to.”

 

I pulled the money out of my wallet, making sure to tip him generously. He insisted on not taking the tip, but my stubbornness ended up winning.

 

“I’ll see you at school,” he waved.

 

“You too!” I smiled.

 

I closed the door and turned around, being met with all twelve boys precariously looking at me from around the corner.

 

“Who was that?” Suho insisted.

 

“A guy I know from school,” I began, “We had Trig together last year.”

 

Some of the boys made an, “oooooo~” sound, teasing me.

 

“It’s nothing like that,” I snapped, frowning. I stepped past them, taking the pizza to the kitchen. Almost as soon as I set it down, they were spread about the kitchen and hands were attacking them. I grabbed a piece of pepperoni, taking a bite out of it as I leaned against one of the counters. Chanyeol stood beside me, frowning.

 

“I don’t think I can eat any of this,” he whined.

 

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, smiling. He looked like a lost puppy, unsure of what to do. His bottom lip was pushed out slightly in an almost exaggerated frown. I glanced over at the stove, the soup we had made was probably no good by now.

 

“I’ll be right back,” I told him as I set my pizza down on a nearby napkin.

 

I headed out of the kitchen and opened the front door, frowning at the current downpour. I simply sighed and stepped out into it. I bolted to my house, the cold rain soaking my hair and clothes. I shivered as I stepped into my house, looking down and frowning. I would have to change. Before heading upstairs to grab another change of clothes, I slid into the kitchen and pulled out a can of tomato-basil soup from our pantry.

Once I had grabbed the soup and a plastic bag to put my extra clothes in (to keep them dry as I ran back), I slid back out into the freezing rain. The boys were startled when I returned absolutely soaked.

 

“Lilah! You need to change! You’re going to get sick!” Kyungsoo pleaded.

 

I shrugged and smiled at him.

 

“It’s going to take more than this,” I replied.

 

He and the others continued to nag me as I pulled out a pot to heat the soup in. Once I had it set and warming up, I turned and picked up my extra clothes.

 

“Lilah, if you get sick because of me-“

 

I stopped Chanyeol, smiling.

 

“Don’t be silly. Just worry about getting better, okay?”

 

He nodded and coughed, still unsure.

 

The walk to the bathroom was slow. I was absolutely freezing and I would probably end up sick. Nonetheless, I couldn’t let Chanyeol starve. I stepped into one of the bathrooms and locked the door behind me. I pulled out my extra clothes, a pair of Under Armor sweatpants, a plain grey t-shirt, another bra, and an extra pair of underwear. I changed my clothes quickly, excited to get out of the cold, wet clothes. I placed them in the plastic bag, unlocking the door and beginning my walk back downstairs.

Everyone had placed themselves back on the couches and such, waiting for me before they began the movies. I sat between Sehun and Chanyeol, Chen starting the movie. It was some silly horror movie. I fidgeted at parts that made me uncomfortable, earning chuckles from Sehun, Chanyeol, and Kai (who was sitting at my feet.) The second movie was a psychological thriller. By the time we had started it I was already tired. I don’t think I even made it halfway before I fell asleep.

 

[3^rd person]

 

Sehun frowned at the screen as the movie ended, opening his mouth and turning to complain to Delilah about the way things had turned out. His mouth shut immediately when he found her passed out against Chanyeol, who had at some point also fallen asleep. It took everything in him not to burst out laughing.

 

“Guys,” he whispered to the others, pointing to the two.

 

At her feet Kai had fallen asleep as well, his body turned and hanging onto one of her legs. Baekhyun giggled, Suho, Chen, and Kris joining him before being shushed by Kyungsoo.

 

“We should wake them?” Lay questioned, looking around to see if anyone was in agreement.

 

At that moment, Chanyeol stirred, lifting his arms from his cocoon and dropping them on Delilah, who turned and buried her face farther into his comforter in response. They looked awkward in their position, as Chanyeol’s arms weren’t even hugged around the girl.

 

“We should just leave them. It’s late,” Tao spoke out quietly, “Plus they look,” he stopped to stifle laughter, “They look so comfortable.”

 

Baekhyun clasped his hands over his mouth to keep from exploding in laughter.

 

“I’m sure they’ll wake themselves up eventually,” Chen added, “Besides, should Chanyeol sleep as much as possible?”

 

The room silenced when Kai’s head whipped around and he stuck a finger to his lips, obviously still asleep as he shushed the group. He immediately turned back around and dropped his head against Delilah’s legs. Fighting laughter the whole way, the group left the room. Kyungsoo took it upon himself to send a text to Delilah’s mother, letting her know where her daughter would be.

 

“Is everything okay, Soo?”

 

Kyungsoo glanced up from his phone quickly, his eyes wide in surprise. A warm smile fell across his face as he nodded. Baekhyun glanced out the doorway of the kitchen and into the living room, an amused smile creeping across his face.

 

“If you’re going to keep it a secret, you can’t act weird around her.”

 

Baekhyun immediately looked at Kyungsoo, the smile disappearing and being swallowed by a serious look.

 

“You saw how she acted when I suggested her playing for us,” Baekhyun whined, “I don’t want her mad at me. You saw how she reacted when I started singing.”

 

“Why did you make me cover for you?”

 

Baekhyun shrugged.

 

“You get along with her the best,” he admitted.

 

He placed his hands in his pockets and looked back into the living room, the grin returning to his face. Kyungsoo followed his gaze, looking in on the girl and his two housemates. He guessed it could be assumed they got along the best of all of the boys so far, but he attributed it to the fact he had spent the most time with her. He was far more patient than the others and he’d also taken the time to try to understand her. If there was one thing he knew for a fact he was good at, it was listening.

 

“I told Xiumin, Chanyeol, Sehun, and Chen.”

 

Kyungsoo smacked Baekhyun’s arm in frustration. He jumped in response, grabbing where he’d been hit and furrowing his brow. The lights flickered for a moment as Baekhyun rubbed his arm.

 

“What was that for?”

 

“It’s bad enough I had to cover for you, but you’re telling everyone else?”

 

“She was so good though,” he exclaimed, dropping his arms, “everyone should know!”

 

Kyungsoo frowned at him, crossing his arms.

 

“I’m sure as she gets closer with everyone she’ll become more comfortable,” he explained, “Everyone will just have to wait.”

 

Baekhyun nodded in agreement, turning to take one last amused look at the group. Chanyeol had turned, moving his comforter so that he was sharing it with Delilah, who had practically moved into his lap. His arms were curled around her and her head was against his chest. Kai had moved onto the couch, his head resting on Delilah’s lap.

 

“They look far more comfy now,” Suho spoke from behind Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.

 

They looked back at him and laughed as he reached into the fridge. Kris came sliding in, Tao following closely behind him. They followed Suho and reached into the fridge for bottles of water.

 

“They’re going to be the best of friends,” Xiumin sang as he appeared.

 

The group laughed, Kyungsoo checking his phone as it buzzed in his pocket. He nodded in confirmation to it, placing it in his pocket as he yawned.

 

“Well, I’m going to sleep now. Goodnight everyone.”

 

-----x-----

 

Delilah jerked forward, her hands immediately covering her face as she began to cough. Kai’s body shot forward and Chanyeol’s eyes flickered open. The girl dropped her head back against Chanyeol, the two boys looking at one another before they glanced back to her. The silver haired boy flinched when he felt her begin to shiver.

 

“Oh no,” he whispered.

 

Kai sleepily reached up and touched her forehead, his body immediately dismissing the need for sleep.

 

“She’s burning up,” he frowned, pushing himself off the couch.

 

He sped out of the room and up the stairs, searching frantically for the room Xiumin had claimed. The noise he made attempting to find it had already woken some of the boys, their doors opening as he burst into Xiumin’s room.

 

“Kai, what are you-“

 

“She’s running a high fever!”

 

Xiumin breathed in deeply to wake himself a bit before sliding out from beneath his comforter. Kai’s body shivered at the cold of the room, but he himself ignored it. Kai pulled Xiumin down the stairs, a few of the boys following behind carefully.

Xiumin took the girl from Chanyeol, lifting her as though she weighed nothing and began carrying her away. Sehun stayed behind as the rest of the group followed Delilah upstairs to make sure she was okay.

 

“That’s not your fault you know?”

 

Without a word Chanyeol stood from the couch and brushed past Sehun. It was his fault. It was his fault she went out into the rain to get him something to eat because he was being a brat. It’s his fault he was sick. It’s his fault he was cursed the way he was. He was a danger. Not to himself, but to others.