Changmin walked down the hall as he did every day, his head down and his eyes up. The bag on his back looking dangerously heavy compared to the lanky body it was riding on. The School day was over and all he had to do was make it out the front gates and he was home free. They never chased him past the front gates. He was scared but the fear was something he had long gotten used to, and he knew that it didn’t last, that is as long as he got out ok. He had made it just ten yards from the gate before all Hell broke loose. Had he been able to hear he would have noticed the abrupt halt in laughter from the boys who had made his high school career a living hell. He would have heard the steady footsteps as they sped up and circled to the front of him, but he can’t, so he didn’t. He stared in horror at the five burly teens standing in front of them. He stood a full head above all of them but at the moment it seemed the exact opposite.

“WH-what do you want?” Changmin stuttered, obviously scared out of his mind but knowing that if he panicked it would just worsen the situation. He felt his bag strap snap as it was torn from his shoulder and watched as the same boy threw it on the ground and started rummaging through it.

“Th-there i-is nothing, nn-nothing in there.” One of the boys walked up to Changmin and grabbed him by the back of the neck, making sure Changmin was looking straight at him. Changmin cringed at the sensation of having the other’s flesh touching his.

“Shut. Up.” He said, speaking the words with enough exaggeration to annoy even the deaf boy in his grasp. If Changmin hadn’t of been so freaked out he would have told the boy off, he can read lips with ease.

          They boy had finished going through Changmin’s bag and threw it back at him before falling back in line with the rest of his little gang. Changmin saw that the only thing he had taken was Changmin’s silver wrist watch, a gift from his sister that had broken two days after he got it, but they didn’t know that.

          “Well,” came the voice of the boy who had just released his hold on Changmin his words coming out slowly again, “thought there would be more for us Changmin-ah. Or maybe you’ve stopped carrying your wallet in your bag.” One of the boys moved to touch him, Changmin instinctively backed away. If there was absolutely one thing he hated it was being touched, even as a baby he would scream his lungs out every time he was passed into unfamiliar hands, and refused to calm until he was back with his mother or father.

          “Now Shim, you don’t want to make this any harder than it already is for you.” He said this time not worrying about incomprehension from Changmin.  “Just stand still.” He said reaching for Changmin again.

          “Hey!” An all too familiar voice cried out, it made each of the boys pause in horror, Changmin whose eyes were now closed had begun to hyperventilate. He didn’t see the five boys take off running in different directions and he cringed when a hand came in contact with his back, his breathing quickening to a dangerous pace.  The hand began to rub small circles on his lower back until Changmin opened his eyes to be met with large brown orbs, similar to his own.

          “Breath Changminnie” The girl, whose hand had now made its way to Changmin’s cheek, mouthed to her younger cousin. Changmin’s breath slowed but it was still nowhere near normal, and Victoria was worried.

          “Jaejoong,” she said calling to the male who had chased off Changmin’s provokers “he’s not okay. Can you drive us to his house?” Jaejoong walked up and threw Changmin’s arm over his shoulder letting the taller male’s body lean on his, before leading him to the car that was parked in the student parking lot. By the time he was seated in the car, his body lying across the other two passengers and his head in Victoria’s lap, his breathing has returned to normal but he was pale and the blush on his cheeks proved their suspicions of a fever. Junsu, Jaejoong’s younger brother sat anxiously rubbing Changmin’s side, while Yoochun, Jaejoong’s boyfriend sat silently not completely knowing what was going on. The car was silent the entire ride, as if they were worried they would wake Changmin, who had passed out before Jaejoong even left the parking lot.

          They pulled up to Changmin’s house only 10 minutes later.

          “You need help getting him in?” Jaejoong asked gripping Changmin under his arms and practically dragging him from the back seat.

          “It would be much appreciated.” Victoria replied moving around to the back of the car to grab their back packs. Jaejoong had managed to shift Changmin so that the leggy boy was now on his back and walked behind Victoria to the front door. When they got inside, Jaejoong laid Changmin on the couch. The couch faced the TV and away from the hall separating the living room and the kitchen.

          “Aunty!” Victoria called and was greeted with the sight of a petite, thin yet curvaceous woman, wrapped in an apron peeking out of the kitchen.

          “Tori how are you?”

          “Fine aunty, Changmin’s running a fever.” Victoria told Changmin’s mother what happened while she watched the woman slowly walk to the other side of the couch and sit down beside Changmin’s feet. She pushed the brown curls from his face, prompting him to open his eyes. When he finally did she placed her hand on his forehead.

          “I feel no fever now, it must have gone down.” She said turning to Victoria. Changmin sat up and moved so that he was now sitting with his head buried in the woman’s chest, once he was settled she resumed his hair.

          “Well it seems like I won’t be getting anything out of him anytime soon. Cha-Cha, Sookie, finish up in the kitchen for me. We’ll have dinner as soon as your father gets home.” Just then two girls came running down the stairs dressed in identical school uniforms making it even harder to tell them apart from each other. The only difference was the short cropped black hair on one and the long straight brown-dyed hair on the other. Both paused seeing the situation before turning to their older cousin.

          “Tori nuna, come help us in the kitchen,” Said the long haired girl, Ae Cha, Ae Sook silently made her way to the kitchen.

          “No, I really think I should…” She was stopped by a strong pat on the leg.

          “Get moving, ease my mind a little. The last thing I need is to see the house burnt down.” She demanded before turning back to Changmin trying to lift his head, but the boy wasn’t having it. “Stubborn little thing aren’t you?” She said instead relaxing back into the couch. It wasn’t long before the front door opened again and Changmin’s father walked in.

          “Rough day?”

          “Terrible, the Victoria’s here, her and the twins are still in the kitchen. Once you get washed up we’ll eat dinner.” She watched as her husband made his way upstairs to change, before turning her attention back to her son who hadn’t moved at all. “You’re going to listen whether you hear me or not.” She said forcing his chin up so that she was now staring into his eyes.  She set her pointer finger just below her bottom lip to attract his eyes. “Much better, now I can see those gorgeous eyes of yours.” Just then he tried to bury his face back into her chest. She resumed her grip on his chin and put him back at eye level, finger once again below her lip.  “Stop… if it’s that bad wouldn’t it be easier to leave the school?”  Changmin began signing to her but his actions were once again stopped, by her hands on his. He had grown. It now took both of her hands covering his to get him to stop. “Come on, speak to me.”

          “I have friends, I like my friends.”

          “You are nice kid you’ll make friends anywhere, you’re smart enough to get into any school you want, we can afford it…”

          “Please… I want to stay. It took me years to make the friends I have.” His pronunciation was a little off, but it always was, and she had spent years perfecting the art of understanding him.

          “You’re such a masochist.” She smiled at the look of confusion that came across the boys face.

          “You’re willing to hurt for the ones you love.”

          “I know what it means.” He said pouting slightly. She chuckled, when angry the boy was a force to be reckoned with, but sometimes that anger was undoubtedly adorable. Just then his father came down the stairs and smiled at the two before heading to the kitchen. Changmin looked back to his mother for confirmation of his suspicions. Smiling when she mouthed “dinner time” 

End Chapter 1

*

*

*

Comments and criticism are deeply appreciated.