I know. Been forever since update. Been busy. Dance. Performance in a week. School tests and crap. Promise better update. Had dance 3 days in a row, each about 4hrs session. Spare me. Love you all. Thank you for waiting. 

Onew POV:

"Not feeling well, mum. Please..." I croaked.

Taemin POV:

"Hello? Who's this?" a voice came through the speaker.

"Ah.. ah." I stuttered for a second, shocked b the sudden pick up. "This is Taemin, is this Onew hyung's mom?"

"Ah, Taeminnie!" 

"Hi umma.. I waas wondering, why isn't Onew hyung in school today? We're all worried." I kicked my lips nervously, shaking my head at the other hyungs infront of me, who were pacing in front of me, while Jonghyun hyung crashed next to me and pushed his ear next to my phone.

"No need to be worried, he's just not feeling well. He couldn't get out of bed today."

"Can we come over to see him?" 

"Mm... I might have to ask him... please wait a while." she requested.

Mumblings came through, but nothing was decipherable. I groaned internally. Jonghyun hyung got up , and then paused for a while, before throwing himself down infront of me on the floor in digruntlement. 

"Hello?"

"AH, here here." I quickly spluttered out, jittery.

"He says not to come... but honestly..." her voice dropped down to a low whisper, and through the phone, it was even harder to hear.  "You can come. He's feeling really bashed up right now... not literally, but he keeps flinching with every touch or move. Seeing you guys will make him feel better."

"Ah... ne, we'll come over as soon as we can. See you soon, umma." I responded cheerily.

"She says we can come over." I said as I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

"Sure. First thing after school." Minho came over to rest a hand on Jonghyun's shoulder, reassuring.

"Seriously. Okay. Go on. Go off for your classes." Jonghyun hyung huffed impatiently, blowing a puff of air out of his lips..

"And you?" I got up, slinging my bag over one shoulder.

"You forget I have the least classes out of all of you. So much for being younger, Taeminnie." 

I stared at him, laughing to himself softly.

"Go!"

We scampered. I grinned as I realized he sounded more of himself now, than the worried hurt hyung that he was just yesterday.

Minho POV:

It's either Key's traditional country-ness rubbed off me, or I'm being dumb.

Jonghyun got pushed into a table, hitting straight at his stomach. Taemin spilled water all over his notes during recess. And I tripped and knocked my head agaist the door threshold. 

I was mindlessly copying answers down on the worksheet as the teacher went on and on. And then the lead snapped. 

Hissing, I took out a scrap piece of paper and scribbled crudely, taking out my anger.

"Minho. Seeing you are so, passionate, about your inequality sums, would you like to do questions 1 to 3 for us?" the sardonic voice of the teacher called. 

I sighed as I heaved myself out of my seat, picking the chalk off the teacher's table that was meant solely for students. 

I copied the answers off the teacher's computer, which he had stupidly left open to the answer screen, pretending to look to the side at my worksheet to peek over the edge of it.

Tossing the chalk back into the box, I dusted off my hands, decidedly sick of waiting. 

"Mr Jin, may I be excused to the sick bay. I feel a headache coming on." I called out, rudely cutting off his stream of words.

He waved a reluctant hand to the door, not turning back. Pleased, I swept my pencil case and books into my backpack, before whirling out of the room. 

I jogged all the way, ducking as I passed the occasional classroom before straightening fully when I hit the area that was lined with rows of lockers before cautiously slipping out the door. I neared the back gate's bench and flung the bag to the floor next to it before collapsing on to it. I heaved a exhausted sigh.

When the hell is school going to end.

Jonghyun POV:

I threw myself down next to Minho, huffing.

"How did you know where to find me? I was thinking of texting you barely a minute ago to tell you..." he shrugged.

"You're sitting right under the classroom windows. You at skipping class."

"Whatever. Not like the teacher saw me. So how was class?"

"Some idiot girl was playing the trumpet, and god bless her, she blew out the straight mute. And a million dollars to those who guesses where it flew to."

"Your stomach?" he poked me in the side, humor in his voice.

"Hell no. It went to where no trumpet mute should ever go. I still want to marry...." I whimpered. 

A chortle came from him and I frowned, kicking my foot backwards to kick his leg.

"You try having solid aluminum crash there...." I shuddered. 

"Sorry. I'm just feeling relieved that nothing happened to Onew hyung."

"Yeah..." I tensed a little, before relaxing as I noticed a figure coming towards us. "Taemin's here."

"Let's go"

Taemin POV:

We stepped into hyung's house, ushered in by his mom.

"He's napping, I gave him some sleeping pills, so quietly. You know where to find him."

"Okay."

We quietly moved up the stairs, before padding over in our socks into Onew hyung's room. He lay there with the duvet thrown over him, his silhouette visible through the creases of the duvet. He was curled up to the side, and the rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathed softly was barely noticible.

Jonghyun hyung smiled, before crawling onto the bed, slipping under the duvet from the other side. I shivered suddenly, before realizing I was standing under the blowing air-con. I shifted closer to Minho, who pulled me over to the floor next to the bed.

The duvet flew off Onew hyung, exposing him. 

To say that we were shaken and terrified, to say that the calm floating in the room was shattered into pieces would be an understatement.

He was still unconscious, thanks to the sleeping pills that he had taken. But he was shirtless. And that exposed everything.

Bruises had bloomed almost everywhere on his body, the fair skin invisible. There was a certain patch of angry screaming red that was nothing like a bruise that flashed on the back of his neck. My eyes followed Jonghyun hyung's shaking fingers as his fingertips lightly ghosted over the bruises. Minho sat there like a statue, face frozen as his eyes roamed over the injuries Onew hyung had mysteriously attained. 

My hand reached out to affirm it was real, only to have it tremble violently, and I dropped it to my lap. I felt moisture, and I raised my hands to my eyes to feel the tears slowly rolling down my face. I was scared.

Horrified.

Worried.

Hurt.

"Nicole...Nicole." Minho whispered suddenly.

My eyes snapped to him, and Jonghyun hyung reached over Onew hyung to grab Minho by the wrist. 

"Nicole..?"

"She has to know something. The suspicious talks they had together before. The looks of distress she gave him."

He scrambled out of the room, fingers flying over his phone's keypad. I watched him disappear.

I felt a choked gasp, and turned to have Jonghyun hyung burying his face into my sweater. I closed my eyes, willing myself to be strong.

"I should have paid more attention. I should have... I should have." he chanted, despaired words mumbled into me.

I hear the frantic mumble of words Minho was spitting out outside the room. 

I hear the constant half let out sobs of Jonghyun hyung.

Despair. 

The dark shadow that has fallen over us all.