The fact that I was able to sleep after that roller coaster of a 24 hour time span was incredible on its own. Waking up, however, was significantly less pleasant. Fresh in my mind were flashes of Ravi’s eyes, singing with Leo, and crying into Ken’s chest. “What the hell, Halley,” I grumbled to myself. “Get your together.” Oh yeah, and it was Fourth of July. Glancing at my phone, I decided against making another phone call, lest some other dramatic encounter result from it. Finally, after staring up at my ceiling for what felt like hours, I managed to struggle out of bed and get ready for the day.

As if on cue, as soon as my hair was tied back, a timid knock came at the door. Despite my generally sour mood, knowing who was waiting for me managed to make me smile, even if just a little. I moved to the door, opening it for Hongbin, “One minute Hongbin, let me get everything.”

He beamed at me, his symmetric dimples making him look even more excited as he fidgeted on the spot, “Good morning,” he greeted suddenly, as if he had just remembered how to talk.

I couldn’t help but giggle a little bit, “Good morning,” I parroted, grabbing the case and cables for the guitar Hongbin had slung over his back, “Alright, here it is. Want to practice in here?”

For some reason, the idea seemed to horrify him. I glanced back. The room wasn’t that messy, so I wasn’t exactly sure what brought that on, “Can we go downstairs?” he said rather forcefully, and I looked at him curiously.

“Sure,” I spoke suspiciously, but nodded anyway. I had learned to just go with the flow with these guys, so I stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind me, “Let’s go.”

Once we were clear of my room, Hongbin glanced back briefly, and then was instantly perky again. It wasn’t like him to be so fickle, and suspicion began to claw at my mind once again, but his joyous smile convinced me to let it go just one more time. “Thank you so much for this,” he spoke up suddenly, shrugging his shoulder with the guitar on it. I watched him as he adjusted it gently, “Did you have a name for it?” he looked at me expectantly.

I stopped in my tracks, “Uh,” I hesitated. Of course I named my instrument, but it wasn’t your typical epic/y name you’d typically give to and object that expensive and important. He finally noticed I stopped and turned around, his face clearly confused. I laughed awkwardly once before speaking, “Gary, actually.”

He simply stared at me. “Gary?” he asked, his accent making it sound even sillier than when I did.

“Yeah,” I said sheepishly, “But,” I continued, walking again to catch up, “you can name it whatever you want,” I assured, “I won’t be mad.”

He nodded gravely, “I’ll think about it,” he mumbled, “but I might be inclined to keep it,” a tiny smile cracked his face as he glanced at me.

I laughed again, “That would make me happy,” I confessed as we made our way into the piano studio. I sat at the bench and he promptly removed my guitar- his guitar from his shoulder as he sat in the accompanying chair, holding it so gently. “Hongbin,” I prompted.

“Hm?” he looked up at me expectantly.

I smirked, “I gave you this one because you’re left handed like me. You’ve watched too many righties play,” I stood and took the instrument out of his hands to flip it before giving it back.

He dropped his head in embarrassment, “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” I ruffled his hair gently before sitting back on the piano bench. Teaching someone to play an instrument is always a long and tenuous process, but at least he knew basic music theory, which helped immensely. We didn’t get too far, mostly just basic mechanics like how frets work, string tuning, that sort of thing. At least he was a fast and patient learner. After a while, I noticed he was checking his phone more and more frequently, “Somewhere you need to be, Hongbin?” I questioned after his second check within fifteen seconds.

He seemed startled, as if he though I wouldn’t notice, “Um,” he stalled, “I guess we should head back upstairs soon,” he was starting to act nervous again.

“You’re hiding something,” I accused. As much as he was still a bit nervous when we were alone together, he was acting strange since he came to pick me up this morning.

“No!” he said defensively, though he started to pack up the guitar with the case and cables I had given him earlier. “We just should check up on the other guys, right?” he was panicking. I had clearly caught him, and this time I didn’t want to let it slide.

“And what might they be doing?” I pressed as I stood.

There was no way he missed my tone, and he looked at me, his eyes oddly apologetic, “Please let’s just go back upstairs.”

I lightened up at his face, “Woah Hongbin, calm down, let’s head up together,” he clearly wasn’t so good under pressure, and I felt a little bad, but at least he looked instantly relieved as soon as we started walking. We made our way back up the stairs in uncomfortable silence. As soon as we got to my door, he started acting up again.

“Okay Halley, thanks so much for the lessons, bye!” and with that he took off at a full run. I watched him in disbelief as he skidded to a stop, just to turn straight into his apartment and slam the door behind him.

“Oooookay,” I couldn’t help but mumble to myself. Maybe I needed to spend more time to figure that boy out. With a shrug I turned to my own door, pushing it open as I always did. But all was not as it usually was. In the middle of my room, my office chair had been displaced, and a simple sundress with an American Flag pattern on it was draped across the back. A note with familiar handwriting was propped up on the seat.

‘Put this on and come on over ^_~’

I picked it up, my mind overloaded with questions. Nothing else in my room had been touched to my immediate knowledge, so I set the note on the desk and picked up the dress. I wasn’t exactly a dress fan, but I had to admit N (or who I assumed was N) had pretty good taste. It was cute. With a sigh, I changed into the short dress, tugging consciously at the hem for a minute before I had the nerve to step outside my room. Before I left, I found a white ribbon to tie up my hair. I figured I might as well go all out if the boys were going to play dress up with me.

Once I closed the door behind me, I was uncharacteristically nervous. I had worn and y outfits for shows all the time without much of a second thought, but this little innocent sundress had me flustered. It was revealing in a whole different way. Regardless, I took a deep breath and pressed forward, making my way to their door. I finally knocked, and the door opened instantly.

Everything suddenly made sense. Hongbin’s strange behavior, the dress, everything. All six of them were there to greet me, little sparklers in their hands.

“HAPPY AMERICA DAY!” They all shouted. I stared at them, mouth open, unsure of what to say.

“You look so cute!” N came forward to grab my hands, pulling me into the apartment.

I blinked, finally regaining my composure, “What is all this?” I asked, still mystified by what was happening.

N, still gently holding my wrists, walked backwards to lead me down the hall to the common room. “Ta da!” he proclaimed proudly, letting go of me to gesture to the room.

What had been a Girls’ Generation paradise had become the headquarters of American patriotism. American flags and presidential portraits plastered the walls. Red, white, and blue streamers were draped across the windows. I simply stood there, rotating to take it all in, “You did all this,” I spoke quietly, “for me?” my eyes returned to N’s face. He was positively beaming.

“Of course for you!” he cheered as the other five filed in behind him, each one smiling warmly at me.

“I don’t,” I stopped, looking at each of them, “I don’t know what to say,” I smiled. My eyes stung briefly, the threat of happy tears creeping up on me. I'm not sure if I had ever felt so touched in my life. “Thank you.”

“Alright, alright, enough sappy crap, let’s get this party started!” Ken piped up suddenly, fetching some kind of remote. Music started playing throughout the room, and I stopped to listen. My hand clapped over my mouth to avoid breaking into laughter. It was muse. Scanning their faces, it was obvious who was responsible.

“Ravi, you’re playing Muse,” I stated the obvious, and he looked back at me sheepishly. He seemed to be debating whether or not to look at me.

“They’re your favorite, right?” he spoke, unusually shy.

“Yeah, but,” I couldn’t hold back a chuckle, “Ravi they’re British.”

Everyone was quiet and looked at each other for a tense moment before my laughter broke through. I doubled over, clenching my stomach. “It’s okay!” I assure them, “That was very sweet of you, Ravi.”

“It is certainly not okay!” Ken spoke up again, breaking through the rest of them to approach me, “Never fear, my lady, for I will save the day!” And with that he ran off.

“So whose idea was this?” I looked at them with an accusing eye.

To my surprise, Hyuk stepped forward, raising his hand a little, “I thought maybe this might make you feel a little bit at home.”

I looked at him for a moment before breaking down, stepping forward to pull him into a hug. I didn’t dare tell him that normally the Fourth of July was a pretty underwhelming holiday. Today, however, it was the best holiday of the year. He finally hugged me back, giving me a squeeze before letting go.

“Okay!” Ken, yet again, shouted. He plugged in his own music player, and some old 90’s pop from the states started to play. I gave him a thumbs up. At least it was American.

Finally, the spotlight on me faded as they started to chat amongst themselves. Apparently there would be a cake, a dance party, and my choice of American movie later, but for now they seemed to revel in their own success. I took the opportunity to sidestep along the room, inspecting all of the American paraphernalia they managed to slap on the walls. As I was looking at a rather cartoonish portrait of Teddy Roosevelt, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Wonsik,” I greeted quietly, giving him a small smile.

“Halley,” he spoke, and I could feel the sadness in his voice. When he looked like he was about to embark on a long winded speech, I took his hands in mine, startling him enough to prevent him from speaking.

“Promise me something.”

“Anything,” he breathed, looking into my eyes earnestly.

“You’re my best friend I have around here,” I started, squeezing his limp hands, “And if that’s all we can be, than that’s okay,” I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop my voice from cracking. “Just don’t change how you treat me.”

He seemed to relax, his smile returning, “I promise,” he said simply. I glanced into the center of the room, where I saw N trying to approach him. Luckily, before I could panic about N interrupting us, Ken deftly intercepted him, leading the confused looking N away. Ravi’s dry laugh gave away that he had seen, too, “What a bro,” he said quietly. Our eyes met again, “One day I’ll explain,” he spoke earnestly again, squeezing my hands back.

“You don’t have to.”

“I promise you that I will,” he asserted again. Clearly he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Friends?” I asked meekly. I suddenly realized how cliché this conversation had been, but it was important to me anyway.

“No,” he teased, “I won’t let you downgrade me. Best friends,” he corrected, his genuine smile breaking through before he pulled me into a tight hug. I clung to him for a moment as I resolved to leave those feelings behind. When we parted, I felt oddly relieved as we rejoined the party, his arm slung casually over my shoulders.

“Cake!” I heard Hongbin call as he strode from the kitchen, carrying a sheet cake with- unsurprisingly- an American flag design.

Everyone hustled to the table in the middle of the couches and found a seat while I stood at the end, looking at the cake in admiration. They all looked to me expectantly. “Thank you all for doing this,” I spoke, “it really means a lot to me. I know I was a little bit homesick, but thanks to you and your kindness, I feel at home right here with you,” I gave a little bow at the end of my speech, and they all clapped happily. I made eye contact with Leo, who looked just as genuinely happy as N. For some reason, it meant even more to me that he was involved as everyone else. I supposed it was because he was generally pretty reluctant about celebrations in general, but he managed to be just as happy for me.

My introspection was interrupted when Hyuk hopped up, “Cake!” he exclaimed like a child on his birthday. Hongbin passed out red white and blue paper plates and we all dug into the simple white cake. It was sweet and delicious despite its simplicity. The room was quiet save for Ken’s strange American music playing softly in the background.

“Mira,” Hongbin spoke up between mouthfuls of cake, “you should go get your music. I want to hear what American music you listen to.”

I hopped up, “Alright,” I agreed, hurriedly making my way to my room. Once I was clear of their apartment, I stopped, leaning against the closed door for a minute. I took a deep breath and let it go slowly. I couldn’t believe what was happening right now, but I worried that if I pondered it too long, something horrible would happen. So instead, I just let it go and made the conscious decision to just enjoy myself. I fetched my mp3 player and made my way back to the VIXX common room. I went straight away to plug it in, finding a decent playlist. It was an interesting mix of 00’s rock and pop, with some modern pop and hip-hop thrown into the mix. It wasn’t the ultimate ‘Murika’ type music, but hell- I was the American here.

I settled on a couch, squeezing between Hyuk and N, who were both eating their fill of the cake. Hyuk immediately leaned on me, getting comfy. N grinned at both of us, and I felt so unbelievably content. “Thanks guys,” I felt like I was overdoing the gratitude, but I had the strong need for them to understand just how much I appreciated this gesture of friendship.

“No prob,” Hyuk said lazily as he finished off the frosting before setting his plate down. It was cute how comfortable he was with me, despite the fact that our time together was brief and quiet. There was just something about him that was trustworthy, and in return he was just as trusting of others close to him. I his soft hair once before looking to N again.

“Where did all these posters come from?” I asked Hakyeon this time.

He shrugged, still working on his cake, “Internet,” he said simply, but he threw me a little smirk my way.

“Professor,” Ken sang loudly, causing me to jerk my head up in his direction. Next to him was Hongbin, head bowed. Once he caught my eye, Ken smiled, “Bean here has something to say.”

I looked at Hongbin- or rather, the top of Hongbin’s head. He didn’t look at me when he spoke, “I’m sorry for deceiving you today!”

It took me a moment to realize exactly what he was talking about, “Oh,” right, this awkward morning, “That’s okay. I’m glad you were deceiving me and not actually that uncomfortable with me,” I shrugged, relaxing against Hyuk once again.

“See Hongbin,” Ken wrapped his arm around his friend’s waist, squeezing him playfully, “I told you she’d be fine.” Ken gave me a wink before leading Hongbin back to the couch they had been sharing. Once again I scanned the room. Ravi and Leo were engrossed in some private conversation; Hyuk was cuddled into my left side, N was squeezed in to my right, his arm finding its way around my shoulders; Ken and Hongbin sat back down on the last couch. And all was well. I sighed happily, closing my eyes briefly.

Ken turned the music up, and a pathetic excuse for a dance party started as the sun set outside. Regardless, it was actually quite fun. When iconic songs came on, I taught N and Ravi the signature dances. Each of them took turns dancing with me and each other. That is of course, except for Leo, who didn’t look angry per se, but he seemed to be getting more and more disinterested by the minute.

“Taekwoon,” I called to him once Hongbin had released me from his silly dance to ‘California Girls’. Leo looked up, clearly surprised by my call, and he raised an eyebrow at me. I walked over to his couch, leaving the five boys to dance with each other, which they seemed perfectly happy to do. Doing my best to calm my breath, I smoothed out my dress as I sat next to him. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that dance parties aren’t your thing,” I leaned into him as I spoke, as if it were some secret.

He didn’t move, but simply looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, “You shouldn’t be,” he replied quietly, “but it looks like it’s certainly your thing.”

“Not really, but,” I sighed, “you guys put so much into this for me, so,” I trailed off as I looked out at the five giggling boys all dancing around the stereo. “I figured I should just relax a little, you know?” I looked back at Leo, who had finally quit staring into nothing and was watching me.

He didn’t smile, but he didn’t look angry at least, “I’m glad you like it.”

I wondered where unicorn talkative Leo went, but I supposed I couldn’t be so greedy. Then again, it was my day. “Dance with me,” I demanded as I stood again, offering my hand.

“No.” it was like a throwback to day 1 of Leo. I was almost happy to see it again. Almost.

Backing down was not an option. “Taekwoon, everyone put all this together for me, you included from what I understand,” I paused, gauging his reaction. His huff proved my theory correct, “And everyone else has danced with the American on America Day,” I found myself using their terminology. Sounded better than ‘Fourth of July’ anyway. “And look, N got me a dress. This is a special occasion on so many levels,” I joked at him, but he avoided looking at me.

He took a long breath, “I don’t dance.”

“Leo, you are a professional dancer as part of your job,” I point out, though my voice might have been a bit too amused to properly make my point as he didn’t seem moved, though I kept my hand out for him.

“Not that kind of dancer,” he reasoned.

“Fine,” I said with a dramatic sigh, “I guess I’ll just have to dance with Ken some more. He’s pretty good at it, you know.”

Leo stared at me, his eyes very slowly growing more narrow by the second. “You,” he started, but he knew he was beat. I simply stood there, free hand behind my back, swaying slowly in my dress, yet another smug grin taking over my face. With an arduous sigh he stood, brushing off my outstretched hand.

“Yah, I told you she’d do it,” Ken’s voice reached us, and Leo nearly turned around right then and there, but my hand lashed out, grabbing his wrist.

“Don’t let him get to you,” I spoke under my breath, trying to maintain my smile.

Leo looked at me curiously, but then looked back to the gathering, seemingly determined. “Are you just going to stare all night?” he broke the silence, and the guys all seemingly understood immediately, going back to their usual shenanigans.

Once he was satisfied that he was not, in fact, the focus of everyone’s attention, Leo relaxed considerably. Getting him to dance was difficult at first, but once I was able to teach him some of the dances to the songs on my playlist, he seemed to actually get into it. Somehow the Cha-Cha Slide (Part 2, of course) made it into my list, and I was able to teach everyone the lyrics, which of course, also was teaching the dance. They made parallels to their ‘Rock Ur Body’ song, and N even tried doing some strange mash-up. As much as it reminded me of my middle school dance, it was incredibly fun with these six good-looking and talented men who had never heard of the ridiculous song.

“That was ridiculous,” Leo was the first to speak when it was over, but he was legitimately grinning, no matter how hard he was trying to hide it.

Hyuk was laughing, “Americans are funny.”

“Whatever,” I waved my hand at them dismissively, “You had fun and you know it.”

It was dark outside now, and everyone was getting pretty tired. “I suppose that movie will have to wait,” N said with a contented sigh. “Good America Day?” he suddenly looked at me with his perfect smile, and I nodded.

“Of course.”

“Good birthday, too,” Hyuk said suddenly.

I stopped whatever it was that I was doing and turned to look at him, “Birthday?” I asked incredulously. They all grew quiet, looking at each other in panic, but all eyes eventually rested on Hyuk. “Sanghyuk,” I stepped toward him, “what birthday?”

It was N who stepped forward, and he looked like a puppy who had been caught chewing up the couch, “Hyuk had us use our birthday budget for him on your American Day party.”

“When?” I looked past N to Hyuk for answers.

“Tomorrow,” he answered sheepishly.

“Tomorrow,” I repeated. I looked around at each of them, their faces guilty, “How could none of you say anything?”

“You were so sad, noona,” Hyuk’s voice was small as he spoke, “and you said you missed home.”

I gave N a nonchalant shove to the side as I stepped forward to bring Hyuk into another tight hug. “Thank you, Hyuk, but you shouldn’t have,” I said quietly, “It’s your 19^th birthday, that’s more important than America day.” My mind was racing as I stepped back. “I’ll be back,” I said suddenly, my dress twirling as I spun on my heel and rushed out of the apartment.

“Mira!” a voice called after me, but I neither cared who it was or what they wanted. I was on a mission.