[Delilah]

I woke up coughing and struggling to breathe. I also woke to an unfamiliar, freezing cold room. The panic that worked its way through me was washed away when a few moments later a familiar face appeared in the door.

“You’re awake,” Kyungsoo spoke quietly, “How are you feeling?”

After a few seconds of calming down, I took time to assess myself. Head throbbing, the shiver of the cold had gone and I was now on fire, my chest was sore, my throat was dry and scratchy, and I was exhausted.

“Terrible,” I responded, surprised at how hoarse my voice was.

“Lay and your mom are making soup for you.”

Kyungsoo had entered the room entirely now, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

“Who’s room?”

“Xiumin. You fell asleep on the couch with Chanyeol and Kai. You woke them up coughing and you were running a fever. Kai panicked and woke everyone up.”

A pang of guilt hit me. I hadn’t meant to wake them up or be an inconvenience.

“I should go home,” I whispered.

I threw the comforter off and threw my legs over the edge of the bed.

“You shouldn’t push yours-“

“I’ll be okay to get home.”

My voice was sharp and immediately I felt bad. My eyes immediately flickered over to him, but he seemed unfazed by my tone. I returned my gaze to my feet, pushing myself off the bed and taking a moment to steady myself beneath the lightheadedness. I felt myself begin to fall until Kyungsoo was standing and his arm was around my waist to steady me.

“You shouldn’t be walking around,” he muttered in a concerned tone.

“Can I at least go downstairs?” I whispered.

I’m surprised he heard me at all, I was so quiet. Without question he began to help me out of Xiumin’s room and downstairs. The guys were all excited that I was awake, but I couldn’t help but still feel horrible for being the reason they were woken up in the middle of the night. They shouldn’t have to take care of me. Kyungsoo helped me to the couch and I smiled kindly as I sat beside Chanyeol and Chen.

“How are you feeling, Delilah?”

Chen’s voice held excitement and concern. His eyes were bright and he didn’t seem at all impeded by a lack of sleep.

“Not so great,” I replied quietly, fighting a cough, “But I’ll be alright.”

I felt Chanyeol shift on the other side of me, taking my attention.

“Are you alright, Chanyeol?”

His head snapped toward me instantly, his eyes wide. He seemed confused for some reason, the dumb look on his face making me tilt my head.

“Chanyeol?”

He seemed to snap out of it then, looking away from me and at the wall across the room.

“How can you ask me that,” he muttered.

I frowned. He sounded angry with me and for some reason I felt like crying then. I knew I had upset Baekhyun somehow, woken everyone up in the middle of the night, and now Chanyeol was upset with me. His eyes looked back to me and I watched as his expression changed to worry.

“Lilah, are you okay? Please don’t cry,” he stammered.

“I didn’t mean to wake everyone up,” I whispered, “And I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I looked down at my lap, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone out of fear I might actually cry.

“We don’t mind that you woke us up at all, Lilah,” Kai spoke up.

“Well technically Kai woke us all up,” Suho interrupted, “But only because he was worried for you.”

“Also, you didn’t upset me, Lilah.”

My head turned to Chanyeol, my eyes still threatening to spill tears.

“I was just confused because you were worried for me when you’re so sick because of me,” he explained, looking away embarrassedly.

“I’m not sick because of you, nerd.”

He looked at me in a confused manner, a smile forming on his lips.

“Lilah! How are you feeling?”

My mom’s voice took my attention as she appeared from the kitchen with a bowl in her hands. She scurried over to me, a worried smile on her lips as she set the bowl down and placed a hand on my forehead.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to go out into the rain?”

“I just wanted to make sure Chanyeol had something to eat yesterday,” I explained, “He was sick and I didn’t think about him maybe not being able to stomach pizza.”

A bright smile fell upon her lips and she leaned over and kissed my forehead.

“Always thinking of other people,” she spoke with admiration.

I smiled in response, turning away to cough before reaching for my soup. The boys all got up, rushing to the kitchen to grab some while they could. A few minutes later, Chanyeol returned to my side, Xiumin taking the set on the other side of me.

“Thank you, Xiumin,” I spoke after coughing, “For letting me sleep in your room.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and a wide smile came to him, his features lighting up.

“It’s no issue at all, Lilah! I’m just glad you’re feeling a bit better.”

I smiled in response, turning back to my soup. After taking a spoonful I looked up and around the room. There were various conversations happening, each small group either laughing or enjoying their food. A strange feeling came to me as I watched everyone. I had never been around a group of people this large outside of school. Never had it been thought that one day I would make a group of friends this large, if a group of friends at all.

I didn’t mind keeping to myself at all. It was easier that way. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t have any friends. I got along with nearly everyone at school, but I was never really included into one group of people as a friend. I drifted and I didn’t mind that. People made me nervous and though I tried hard to fight it, it was inevitably the reason I didn’t let myself make true friends. The pressure of trying to keep someone as interested in me as I was in them was something I didn’t think I could handle.

“Are you going to eat, Lilah?”

I turned my head to Xiumin who looked worried as he stared at me.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking is all,” I smiled.

He grinned and returned to his food, glancing over at Luhan and Tao as they started to argue about getting more food. I laughed a bit, placing my bowl down quickly so I could cover my face to cough.

“Are you still running a fever?” Suho asked from across the room, taking everyone’s attention.

Kai stood up from across the coffee table in front of me and leaned over it, placing a hand on my forehead.

“It doesn’t seem as bad as last night, but you’re still running one.”

An awkward silence fell across the group.

“Wanna just do what we did yesterday and watch movies?” I spoke.

Relief filled me as the room became full of chatter again, decisions being made on movie choices. Mom came over to me while the boys were excited, taking a moment to speak to me.

“Are you going to be alright here?”

I smiled at the concern in her voice.

“Yes, I will be. I’ll come home after a few movies.”

Mom smiled and kissed my forehead again, telling the boys goodbye before leaving. I looked down at my bowl of soup, frowning at my sudden nausea. I pushed myself back into the couch, pulling my legs up to my chest and hugging them. The boys spoke amongst each other about choice in movies, eventually deciding on the Hunger Games.

“I’m cold,” I whispered to myself.

Immediately Xiumin glanced to me, a light look of surprise on his face. I dropped my head on my knees, hiding my face. A few moments later a blanket was dropped on me. I jumped and threw it down, startled. Luhan laughed, Lay and Baekhyun joining in from behind him.

“How did you even hear me,” I muttered to myself.

After a few seconds everyone settled in. I found myself seated between Xiumin and Chanyeol, with Luhan and Tao at my feet. I remember making it to Effie calling out Prim’s name before everything when dark.

[THIRD]

Chanyeol jumped when she leaned on him. Her eyes were closed and her breathing seemed to have settled out. She was asleep. Again. A small smile came to him as she pushed into him more.

“Warm,” she muttered to herself.

A sudden pang of guilt hit him as he thought about why she was sick in the first place. He then remembered her asking him if he was alright. Of all the things she could be worried about, she was worried if he was feeling alright.

She definitely had the kindest heart he had ever seen. He had spoken to the boys about it and they all agreed with him. They had never really been introduced to someone to expressively kind. She was the kind of person that would set herself on fire to save someone else from an inferno. It made all of the boys immediately cling to her. They were all thankful that of all the people that could host them here, it was Delilah and her family.

“She fell asleep?” Luhan questioned quietly, taking the attention of the group.

“She probably should for a while,” Kris recommended.

“Should we move her to one of our rooms?” Sehun asked.

A second of silence passed, Chanyeol shaking his head.

“She’s fine where she is,” he whispered, hoping not to disturb her, “We should probably keep watch over her just in case.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Lay agreed.

The boys returned to the movie and Delilah stirred, leaning up for a second and blinking at the tv a few times. She immediately shifted and fell asleep sitting against the back of the couch. Eventually she slowly leaned over, falling on Xiumin this time. He giggled a bit, Luhan, Kai, and Chanyeol turning to him and shushing him which only made him giggle more, surprisingly without waking the sleeping girl.

Not too long passed before she stirred and sat up again. Xiumin waited for her to fall back on Chanyeol before taking the chance to rush to the bathroom. She stirred a bit here and there, trying to find a comfortable way to sleep. Eventually Chanyeol turned, moving her so that she was laying across him, her head resting on the arm of the couch. Delilah quit shifting around, finally finding comfort as she slept.