Ava blinked several times in astonishment. The guy was legit glaring at her. What was his deal? He looked like he hated her. She swallowed nervously and cleared .

She bowed in the maknae's direction and introduced herself for the second time but it didn't change much. He was still drilling holes through her.

The other members started muttering things to him which finally resulted in the youngest member standing up. He bowed very slightly towards her. "Lim Changkyun," he gritted out. "Or I.M."

"Hello," she managed. It really wasn't nice to meet him so she didn't say that it was.

Changkyun stalked back over to his chair and sat back down. He slid his phone from his pocket and looked at it, tapping the screen.

Shownu, looking a little less intimidating, again waved his arm, this time towards another armchair, inviting her to sit down.

"Thank you," she said and walked over and sat down. It was surprisingly comfortable. It looked like one of those chairs that you thought were perfect but when you sat down was really stiff and unyielding. This one however, looked nice and actually was soft.

Her chair was in the opposite corner from where Changkyun was seated. She glanced at him a few times but he never lifted his head.

One of the members cleared their throat and she looked in that direction.

"So, uh, how do you like Korea?" Minhyuk asked her.

"I haven't seen very much but it looks so colorful and interesting. I'm itching to take pictures of everything."

"Oh, yes. Pictures. The reason why you're even in Korea. "

The statement was filled with so much loathing she was momentarily taken aback. She turned and stared at Changkyun again. He wasn't looking at her however. His eyes were focused on his phone once again.

She felt her lower lip tremble and her eyes sting. She refused to let them see her break down in front of them so she bit her lip hard and pinched her arm discreetly. The combined pain helped her stop feeling so emotional.

She raised her head and looked towards the other members. Everyone just looked around at everyone else. No one spoke.

"Is the food ready? "

Every head except for the maknae's turned to the doorway where Minjun stood. They had all completely forgotten he was even there.

"Oh, y-yes. Almost, " Shownu stuttered slightly, standing to his feet and walking towards what Ava supposed must be the kitchen.

The other five members looked uneasily at her and then Changkyun.

"We'll help, Hyung, " they all said quickly in unison and followed Shownu.

Minjun shot a slightly worried glance towards Changkyun before turning to her and saying he would help too. He turned and escaped while he could.

Traitor, she thought sourly. How dare he leave me here alone with this hateful kid?!

The hateful kid didn't seem to have even noticed everyone else's sudden absence, still very engrossed in his phone.

She fidgeted in her seat. She hated awkward silences more than almost anything.

She surreptitiously glanced over at Changkyun.

He had his head bent over his phone and a lock of his hair had fallen down, almost into his eyes. He looked so boyish like that and the corner of turned up a little.

He moved suddenly and she abruptly jerked her head around the other way and pretended to be looking around the room.

She suddenly felt a weird sensation, like someone was staring at her maybe.

She looked up and into another set of eyes that seemed to have flames in them.

"Do- what- why are you looking at me?" she stuttered out.

He raised his brows at her. "Don't you know the answer?" His voice was so dark and creepy, she felt like she was in a real-life horror movie.

"N-no."

He smirked. "I would've thought someone who had graduated from college with a 4.0 would know everything."

She frowned a little. "Why?"

"Because that's just how all American girls are."

Her eyes widened. American girls? She knew he had lived in Boston for three years and he knew how to speak English. What she hadn't known, was that apparently he had dated too....or at least interacted with girls there.....how old had he been when he lived in the States though?

"Isn't that being very judgmental? After all, we're strangers to one another."

"You're all the same, " he insisted.

"Is that what everyone else thinks too?" she asked with a sudden sinking feeling.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

She gasped. "Did you tell them that?"

"So, it's true then, " he said smiling a little self-satisfied smile that looked....She wasn't sure what to call it. He looked pleased with himself a little but he also looked....pained?

She felt shocked. Why did it feel like instead of actually being angry and hateful, he was hurting?

A sudden yell from the other room interrupted her thoughts.

"The food is ready! Come on in here!"

Changkyun quickly stood up and walked out of the room.

Ava got to her feet cautiously. She almost felt like an intruder, in the home of seven males (Well six. Jooheon seemed to like her just fine.)who clearly resented her presence.

She forced herself to leave the room and followed the sounds to find the kitchen.

Inside, everyone seemed to be going in a different direction, most of them also carrying a dish of this and that. They were setting up dinner on a low table in a smaller room across the hall from the kitchen. She guessed it must be what they used as their dining room.

Jooheon looked up and caught sight of her and quickly came over. "Come on, Noona. You can sit over here by me." He threw her another smile.

He settled her on the floor beside him and his friendliness went a long way in calming her.

The other seven settled down as well and everyone took some food, Jooheon playing host and dipping out food for her.

Minjun and Jooheon were the only ones who really spoke, the others muttering a word here and there to each other but never to her.

Even though Jooheon had done his best, she was still very relieved when the meal finished and the boys started to clear the table. She timidly offered to help, but Jooheon wouldn't let her.

She decided to take a moment and look around the room.

On one wall there were large shelves made of clear glass and filled with trophies, little knick knacks and other random things. On the far wall, there was a small stereo system, with shelves below filled with CD's. She wondered why they had a stereo here, because she had seen a much larger one in the living room. Maybe this room's stereo was only used for certain events or something.

It was apparently Jooheon and Minhyuk's turn to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen, so the two of them stayed there while everyone else filed back into the living room.

Ava reclaimed her armchair that she had sat in previously. She stayed silent and just watched as the members and Minjun found a seat also and settled down.

After five minutes of silence with no one speaking, she was startled when a voice suddenly spoke.

"Let's turn on the T.V !" Kihyun said excitedly.

Hyungwon reached over and nudged Changkyun, who was again seated in the corner. "Yah! Turn it on. You're closest."

The maknae looked up with a scowl because he'd gotten interrupted while he was staring at his phone. He stood up and reached over and hit the ON switch and the television came to life. He returned to his seat.

Ava stared at the screen and tried to get interested in the game show that was playing. It wasn't working though. She was much more interested in looking at all the idols while they weren't focused on her.

All, with the exception of the hateful kid, seemed suddenly like little kids, as they shouted out guesses for the contestants on the television.

They were relaxed for the first time that evening, she realized. Did they dislike her that much? She was just here to get to know them and take their photos. Nothing more, nothing less. Why would they hate her when they had just met her?

She could feel a headache coming on and she rubbed her forehead, hoping to ward it off. She occasionally got migraines and she didn't want one of those.

In the midst of everything, she also felt a sudden need to use the bathroom. Great, she thought. Maybe I can hold it till I get back to my room. She turned her attention back to the T.V.

                                                                      ~~~~~~~

60 minutes later, all the guys, except for Minjun who had left and Changkyun still obsessed with that phone, were still engrossed in the show and her bladder was getting angrier at her. Shouldn't have drank all that juice, she thought darkly. Jooheon had kept trying to refill her glass though and it had tasted really good....

She stood up, not seeing anything else for it. "Could I use your bathroom, please?" she asked, trying not to blush in embarrassment.

She suddenly had everyone's attention, even Mr. Cell Phone, in the corner.

"Sure. It's down the hall, second door on the left." Kihyun finally said.

"Thank you."

She tried to walk with measured steps so it didn't seem like she was running out of the room.

Once she was out of their sight, her steps sped up a bit. She passed the kitchen on the left and the dining room on the right. A few seconds later she passed the first doorway on the left, which she thought might be a bedroom.

Suddenly, her headache came back with a vengeance. A wave of pain went through her skull and nearly brought her to her knees.

She d for the wall trying to stay upright, her breathing shallow. Her vision darkened.

She clutched the wall and tried to blink her eyes.

After a minute, her head lessened its pounding slightly and her vision returned.

She took a deep breath and stood up. Keeping her hand on the wall, she finally made it to the second door.

She pushed the door open and the light. It was done in dark blues and greens. Just right for a bunch of males. 

She used the toilet and went to the sink and washed her hands. She reached for the hand towel beside the sink.

Before she could grab it however, the pounding in her head returned, worse than before.

Again, her vision blackened. She could feel herself starting to fall and she reached for the nearest thing, which was the shelving over the toilet. It wasn't sturdy enough and started to fall as well.

The last thing she heard before she passed out, was the loud sound of glass jars hitting the floor. 

~~~~~

I'm back :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter more! 

Since I'm leaving for KCON in two days, I probably won't add a chapter till late next week at least. When I get back I have one day to do things before I have to return to work, so I probably won't have any time to write.

Special thanks to my latest subscribers!! I hope you enjoy!!