“Hey!”

My voice was louder than I had intended, but it caught his attention without fail. His head whipped around to me. The way his eyes looked through me sent a shiver down my spine. A flash of red fell over his eyes before he looked up at the sky and to the full moon. He shot one last glance to me before turning and lunging off the roof we were on.
My body rushed forward without warning, my eyes searching frantically over the edge for the boy. Relief and confusion found me as he looked up at me from four stories down. I felt my breath catch in my throat as he looked up at me.

“Luhan?”

Fear flashed across his face as though he had realized I recognized him. Another body came from around a corner, followed by a few more.

“Luhan!”

The other bodies stopped immediately, frozen in place. Luhan turned to them and said something, but I couldn’t hear it over the wind that picked up around me. I took another step forward and caught something with my foot. My stomach dropped as I began to fall forward. I watched the mysterious bodies run toward me. Luhan looked up at me, terror obvious on his face as I came to the ground.

-----x------

“No-“

I shot forward, my chest heaving as the feeling of the fall radiated through my body.

“Lilah?!”

My head snapped to Luhan instantly, though he wasn’t who spoke to me. The same look of terror he left me with was the one I had returned to. Quickly I looked down at my lap, taking a moment to assess where I was and how long I had been out.

“Are you okay, Lilah?”

I jumped when I realized I was in Chanyeol’s lap. Removing myself back to my seat between Xiumin and him I nodded. My breathing was still fast and short and it was starting to make me feel dizzy. Why did I dream about Luhan?

“Are you sure you’re alright? Did you have a bad dream?” Xiumin asked.

“I’m fine,” I breathed.

I felt myself shiver then, a chill falling down my spine. I must still be running a fever.

“Here,” Chanyeol spoke as he pulled the blanket I had over my shoulders.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I muttered embarrassedly, remembering where I had found myself when I had woken up.

“For?”

I looked up at him, the dumb look on his face making me giggle to myself. My laughter was interrupted by coughing, which caused me to frown.

“I’m going to die~” I groaned.

“Don’t be so overdramatic, Lilah,” Kyungsoo interjected jokingly, standing up and heading toward the kitchen.

Chen took this time to pause the movie, which was almost over from what I could assess. A few of the boys moved about, either to the kitchen or the bathroom or somewhere else. I remained on the couch next to Xiumin, Kai staying seated at my feet. I blew air into my cheeks, puffing them out as I pulled the blanket over my head. Another chill hit me and I pushed the air out of my cheeks.
A sudden flash of my dream came to me. Luhan’s eyes looking straight through me. I shuddered at the memory. It was probably only coincidental that he was in my dream.

“Here you go, Lilah~” Luhan sang cheerfully.

He wore a warm smile and his eyes were bright and kind. Nothing like I had seen in my dream. There’s no way they were the same people. I smiled kindly in return, reaching out and taking the tea cup he held out for me.

“Thank you, Luhan,” I replied warmly.

I took a small sip. Green tea with honey. Kyungsoo’s doing, more than likely. I slowly lowered the cup to my lap, holding it carefully in my hands so I didn’t burn myself. Everyone here had been so kind to me and I had done nothing to deserve it. How would I ever repay any of them?

“Are you okay?”

I blinked a few times before smiling over to Kris and nodding in response to his question.

“I’m just thinking about how I’m going to repay all of the kindness you’re all showering me with.”

Baekhyun slipped into the room then, a bright grin on his face.

“You could always play piano for us,” he began, “Or even something on the ukulele!”

He was definitely determined to hear me play something, though I wasn’t sure why. My head dropped, my eyes focusing on the tea in my hands again. Maybe if it was just for one person, I could do it. I shuddered at the thought, suddenly upset.

“You don’t have to, Lilah,” he interjected, “But if you do, I’ll sing for you!”

A smile worked its way across my lips, but I kept my head down.

“Maybe someday, Baekhyun.”

My reply sounded far more positive than I was feeling about it. I looked up at him and the answer seemed to satisfy him. I saw Kyungsoo smile from behind Baekhyun. I assumed he had remained silent about catching me playing, and I was thankful for it. It bothered me enough that he had heard it, but at the same time it felt perfectly fine. Kyungsoo had something about him that was just so calming to me, and I was extremely appreciative of it.
The sound of thunder exploding through the room made me jump. I threw my tea cup forward, pulling the blanket over my face and slamming myself into the back of the couch. Slowly I looked out, realizing I had thrown my hot tea. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized I hadn’t hit anyone with it.

“I’m sorry,” I stuttered as I stood to run to the kitchen.

Kai placed a hand on my arm, pushing me back down onto the couch before launching off to the kitchen.

“You’re afraid of storms?”

I could feel the embarrassment flooding me then. They probably all thought I was a child. What kind of fear was a storm?

“Y-Yeah,” I stammered.

I could feel tears forming in my eyes. A knot tied itself in my throat and I was starting to have trouble breathing again. Baekhyun stood from his seat and dropped down beside me, taking Chanyeol’s seat. He threw an arm over my shoulders and pulled me into him, using his hand to cover my exposed ear and hold my head against his chest. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing to calm myself, both from the storm and the close contact with Baekhyun.
Though it wasn’t because it was Baekhyun, it was because it was a boy. I hadn’t ever even been good at close proximity with girls, but boys were a completely different territory altogether. The realization that I couldn’t hear anything outside of Baekhyun’s heartbeat and breathing brought me to a calm that made me forget why I was anxious in the first place. After a few minutes I pulled away from him, calm.

“Thank you,” I whispered embarrassedly. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and smiled kindly.

“Don’t be sorry, Lilah. Everyone’s afraid of something.”

“You guys should finish the movie,” I suggested. “It’s almost over.”

The boys agreed and Chen pressed play. I forced myself into the movie, trying to drown out the storm that raged outside. Occasionally one of the boys would look over at me, thinking I couldn’t see them, to check and make sure I was okay.

How was I going to repay their kindness?