Key was sitting on the couch with Minho when I came out. Apparently after Jonghyun and Minho had woken up one of them had decided to put away the bed. I went over to where they were sitting and stood nervously in front of them, and Key patted his lap, not looking like he was expecting much. I climbed into his lap, part of my weight going on Jonghyun, and sat quietly for a moment as Key hugged me, and Jonghyun rubbed my back.

“Wana tell me what happened?” Key asked softly. I shrugged, leaning my head back on the couch.

“I just got upset.” I said.

“Because Jinki left?” Jonghyun asked. I nodded, and Key squeezed me tightly.

“He’ll be back.” Key said. I nodded, bringing my hand up to my face so I could smell Jinki. Key ran his fingers through my hair. “Are you gonna be ok to go to school?”

“Will you come with me?” I asked quietly. He nodded.

“We’ll all come if you want.” He offered, and I thought about it for a moment before picking my head up and nodding. “Do you want me to do your hair?”

“Do what?” I asked, looking at him. I caught sight of Minho shaking his head, but it was too late. Key had already moved me into Jonghyun’s lap and gone hunting for a brush. He came back a moment later, brush in hand, a normal elastic around his wrist, and a smaller elastic around two fingers.

“Move over.” He commanded, and I reluctantly did as I was told. He settled in behind me, running the brush through my hair quietly. I sighed softly, feeling the bristles relaxing me as they tugged the small knots loose. He set the brush down a moment later, then pulled my hair into a ponytail. I thought he would stop there, but he began moving strands of my hair. I closed my eyes and let him do what he wanted, the feeling of my hair sliding over itself lulling me into a secure place. “Jjongie, does that look even?”

“Yeah.” Jonghyun said, and then came the second hair tie. Once Key decided he was done he wrapped his arms around my torso and hugging me softly. I leaned back against him, feeling mostly content, but still a little uneasy.

The uneasy feeling followed me out the front door, into the cab, and all the way to school. Even with Key and Jonghyun each holding one of my hands, I couldn’t properly relax. We got out of the cab and went into the school, and Jonghyun let go of my hand, allowing me to open the door to my classroom. I hesitated after turning the handle, and Key squeezed my hand. I pushed the door open, pulling Key in with me as I went, and it didn’t escape my notice that Jonghyun and Minho waited in the hallway.

“Taemin!” The teacher said, seeming surprised. I offered her an awkward smile. “Is this your fiance?”

“N-no. This is my friend, Key. Jinki’s at work.” I said awkwardly.

“Oh, nice to meet you Key.” She said. He nodded, smiling. “Did you want to sit in class with him today?”

“No thank you. He’s just here to pick up his work.” Key said, moving and hugging me from behind. She nodded, smiling, and went to her desk.

“This is everything you’ve missed so far.” She said, pulling out a folder. “I’ll add in what I have prepared so far for upcoming classes, as well.”

“Th-thank you.” I said, holding onto Key’s arms and avoiding the stares of my classmates. She seemed to be taking a while, and the longer she took, the more stressed out I got.

“Calm down.” Key whispered. I rubbed Jinki’s sleeve against my nose, inhaling the scent. I could hear my classmates mumbling about something, and while I couldn’t be sure it was about me, I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t. “Taeminnie...”

I heard the door open again, and Key released me a moment later. I turned my head to see why, and saw Jonghyun standing there with a grin on his face. He came up to me, his arms going around my waist automatically. I saw him puff his cheeks out and copied the action instinctively. I watched as both his and Key’s mouths fell slightly open. I let the air flow out and tilted my head.

“What’s..uh..” Jonghyun coughed once, then shook his head. “What’s taking so long, hmm?”

“We’re just waiting for the work.” I said. Jonghyun nodded, then suddenly picked me up. My upper half went over his shoulder, and I gripped his shirt tightly. “W-what are you doing?”

“Having fun.” He said, turning his upper body back and forth. Key was laughing behind his hand, and I was somewhere between nausea and giggling.

“Here we go.” The teacher said, a hint of laughter in her voice as she handed the folder to Key. Jonghyun his heel and marched out quickly, and I hid my face in his back.

“Thank you!” Key said, waving and following us out.

Jonghyun set me down once we were in the hallway, but my legs were shaky. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to think of what had just happened as fun instead of scary. It was over now anyway, but I was still a little upset. Key wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I remained quiet all the way back to the apartment.

When we got home I fought the instinct to go hide in my room and instead went to sit on the couch, staring at the digital clock on the cable box. Jinki had only been gone for two hours. I pulled my legs up to my chest, hugging them tightly as Jonghyun and Key came to sit with me. Minho put his headphones in and sat in the chair, his eyes closing as he drifted to sleep.

“Tae?” Key said, rubbing my arm softly. I looked up at him, my fist against my mouth, still holding Jinki’s sleeve. “You ok, baby?”

I nodded, resting my head on the arm of the couch. He sighed softly, then picked up the remote, flipping through until he found something he thought was worth watching. I looked up and saw that there was a wedding on the television. I looked at him, confusion taking over. Was he trying to educate himself about weddings before we started planning, or did he just like the show?

“So, we need to set a date.” Key said a moment later.

“They need to pick a venue first.” Jonghyun said.

“Why? They could just do what we did.” Key said, flopping back on Jonghyun’s lap.

“Text everyone the address an hour beforehand?” Jonghyun said with a raised brow. “I’m sure that would go over great with Jinki’s mom.”

“Oh. That’s right.” Key said, looking a little lost in thought for a moment. He blinked a moment later, then got up. “Ok, fine. Where’s the phone book? I’ll start calling to look for openings.”

“It’s in the kitchen. Don’t book anything without talking to Jinki first.” Jonghyun said. Key waved him off as he went into the kitchen, and I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

Around 5 that night I was waiting by the window, looking out into the street for any sign of Jinki. He usually got home around that time, but even as the minutes ticked by there was no sign of him. By 5:15, I was was starting to panic. Key tried to get me to focus on the wedding, and I was doing my best, but it was hard. By 5:30, I felt sick, and I really didn’t care about the wedding anymore.

“Tae, come on. We’re almost done.” Key said, rubbing my back gently. I swallowed hard, nodding and looking back at the color swatches he had laid out. “Blue or green?”

“B-blue.” I whispered. Minho was in the shower now, and Jonghyun looked lost as he stared at me. No amount of smelling Jinki’s sleeves or anything else was going to help me.

“Ok, blue.” Key said, but his voice sounded strained. “Vanilla or chocolate cake?”

“I...I don’t care...” I said, my voice low. Key looked up at me, surprised.

“Taemin?” He said. I met his gaze with a blank face. “He’ll be back. You know that.”

I shook my head, pulling away when he tried to touch me. I didn’t know that he would be back. Every time he left me alone something bad happened. Every. Single. Time. Jonghyun got up slowly, coming closer to me, and I cringed away from him. Key wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close, and I squirmed, trying to get away from him. When I couldn’t, though, I gripped his sweatshirt tightly in my fists. He held onto me tightly as I started tugging at his clothes, rubbing my face harshly against his shoulder and trying to calm down, but it just wasn’t right.

Jonghyun rubbed my back, but I couldn’t calm down for the life of me. Every minute that passed stressed me out more and more. Eventually I stopped shaking my head, but by then I dissolved into tears. Key slid his arm under my thighs and lifted me up, carrying me to the couch. I hiccuped, still holding onto him tightly as we settled into the couch. Key looked stressed, and I felt guilty, but when I caught  sight of the clock - 5:43 - I choked on my tears and tightened my grip on Key’s sweatshirt.

“Tae, you need to calm down.” Key said. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. “Jjongie, can you go get Jinki’s blanket?”

“Yeah. I’ll be right back.” He said, going into the room I shared with Jinki. He came back out with the heavy comforter we always shared and wrapped it around my shoulders. Key helped him, and I found myself tucked tightly in the blanket. I sniffed, releasing Key’s sweatshirt in favor of holding onto the blanket. “You gonna be ok, Taemin?”

“W-where is he?” I asked, and Jonghyun bit his lip, his eyes traveling to the clock.

“What time does he usually get home, baby?” Key asked. I rubbed at my eyes and took a deep breath before answering.

“F-five.” I said. Key looked back at the clock, and I watched his expression turn to one of worry. I felt my insides constricting as I looked at the clock again. It was 6.

“I’m sure he’ll be home soon.” Key said. I shook my head, my tears flying off my face.

“Something happened.” I said, and Jonghyun bit his lip. I had heard the shower shut off a while before, but it didn’t connect in my head that Minho should be out until I saw him looking at me with a concerned expression.

“What’s going on?” He asked, sitting in the chair.

Jonghyun shook his head, and Minho fell silent. I worked on calming myself down, but by the time I felt like I was starting to get myself in check I made the mistake of looking at the clock again. It was 6:30, and Jinki still wasn’t home. Between the crying and the anxiety, I could feel my stomach clenching, and I got up quickly. I ran to the bathroom, lifting the toilet seat just before my stomach expelled its contents. I felt like I was dying, and sobbed as I gagged miserably over the toilet.

When I finally looked up from the mess I was making to grab some toilet paper I caught sight of Key in the doorway. He looked worried, and I ignored him as I cleaned my mouth, throwing the toilet paper in the toilet before flushing it, and got up to brush my teeth. My mouth felt too disgusting to ignore, but the tears didn’t stop, and I had an awful headache. When I finished brushing my teeth I went out to the living room, settling myself back into the couch. I didn’t want to be anywhere I couldn’t see the door.

7 was coming on fast at this point, and I curled up in a ball, not touching anyone. I felt like I was going to fall asleep, and I didn’t want to. I had to wait for him to get home. I had to. He wouldn’t leave me. There was no way. My sobbing subsided to silent tears and very sore, very raw eyes. Key was keeping his distance, and while I was grateful for the idea behind the action, I didn’t want to be left alone. I was scared. No, I was terrified. I stared at him with watery eyes for a long time before he came to sit with me. I leaned on him, sniffling softly as Jonghyun, Minho, and Key sat silently around the room.

It was so silent I heard the doorknob turning.

My head snapped up and I watched the door open, and a moment later I found myself in the open doorway, facing Jinki. He looked slightly surprised, and I wrapped my arms tightly around him. He squeezed me close, kissing the top of my head and trying to keep me standing. He eventually leaned his back on the wall, sliding down and holding onto me tightly.

“Tae..” He said softly. I took a few breaths, trying to calm down, but I felt another round of tears coming on. He pressed his head against mine, then looked up. “How long has he been like this?”

“Since around five thirty.” Jonghyun answered, and Jinki bit his lip.

“He threw up a little while ago.” Key said softly. Jinki pet my hair.

“I got stuck working late. I tried to call, but both of your phones were off.” The last part was directed at Jonghyun and Key, who both had very guilty expressions.

“I shut mine off to charge it. I must have forgotten to turn it back on.” Jonghyun said.

“Mine died after I finished calling all the venues.” Key mumbled. Jinki sighed.

“It’s fine. It’s fine.” He said, but his tone sounded as though he thought it was anything but fine. I rested my aching head on his chest, the rest of my body curling up against him. “Tae?”

“Yeah?” I asked. My throat was raw and painful.

“I think I’m gonna get you a cell phone.” He said. I looked up at him through puffy lids. “That way if something comes up I can just call you, instead of everyone else.”

“O-ok.” I said, wiping at my painful eyes.

He sat with me like that for a while after, and when we finally did get up he didn’t let go of me as he moved through the kitchen. He started heating up some milk, and he pulled out the cocoa mix and fluff, and I felt a lot calmer. Jonghyun had his phone and ordered take out with an apologetic expression. We ate quietly, and I felt myself dozing before I even finished my cocoa. It had been a long day, but Jinki had one more thing he wanted me to do.

We were laying back on the bed, and he was on his cell phone carriers website on his laptop, pointing out different phones to me and explaining the different features they had. My head felt heavy as I looked at the screen, and I squirmed closer to him. He my hair, which I had finally taken down from the braid, and I sighed softly. He pointed to a phone, and I felt my interest catching. It was white, and it had a full keyboard for texting, which Jinki said we would be able to do while he was at work. I nodded, my eyes not moving from the phone.

“I’ll order it right now.” He said, moving the mouse across the screen. I closed my eyes, yawning widely, and he laughed. “It’ll be here on Wednesday. Let’s go to sleep, ok?”

I nodded, and he set the computer on the bedside table before pulling the blanket up over us.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There we go~
Part 2~

Does anyone else feel bad for Taemin? Because I feel bad for Taemin.