By the end of the flight (a short thirteen hours), Tao and I were still chatting quietly. Everyone else in the plane was sleeping when the pilot came on the intercom at last.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. We will begin making the final descent to Denver Colorado in approximately twenty minutes. The weather is partly cloudy, 70 degrees fahrenheit and 21 degrees celsius. The time is 3:19 pm. We hope you enjoyed your flight today and join us again in the future!”

Soon after, the same announcement was made in Mandarin. Two seats over, Yixing brightened the window so we could see outside. A thin layer of clouds stood between the plane and the earth. Luhan’s eyes opened lazily to the light and Kris mumbled something in Tao’s ear before heading to the bathroom.

“Zhongrui,” Tao said loudly. The bodyguard sitting in front of us stood and turned to look at him. “Can you get us some coffees please?”

He nodded and walked to the front of the plane to talk to a flight attendant. Then Tao turned to me. “I haven’t slept for fifteen hours, and the first concert of the tour is tonight at eight.”

“Tour?” I asked, confused.

Lay snickered. “Hey Tao,” he said, leaning over Luhan slightly. “Why don’t you invite your girlfriend to join us on the first concert of our All American Tour?”

Tao turned slightly red, and my jaw dropped. “You guys are that big of a deal?” I exclaimed, surprised. Luhan joined Lay’s laughter next to me, punching his shoulder softly.

“Would you like to join us tonight?” Tao asked politely.

It was my turn to blush. “I would love to.”

Lay and Luhan high fived each other ecstatically, and Tao and I immediately looked away from each other, overcome by sudden shyness.

“What happened?” Kris said, plopping down into his seat. Zhongrui handed us all our coffees and sat back down as well.

“Tao invited our friend Luna to the concert tonight, isn’t that cute?” Yixing replied, a huge grin on his face.

Kris frowned instantly and turned his cold eyes on me. They traveled through my blue eyes, down my throat, spine, and into my heart. I could have easily hidden all of my insecurities until then, but Kris and I had a sort of discreet conversation that brought them all out into the light. How could I, an eighteen year old, American, average looking girl, tag along with four famous, Chinese, exceptionally handsome and talented men?

Tao, who also had his eyes on me, seemed to understand what was happening. Subtly, he took his arm off of the armrest between us and put it down between our legs so that it brushed my thigh. Kris’s eyes fluttered down and saw the display of affection, and a look of disgust came over his face before he put in his earbuds again and closed his eyes.

Tao sighed. “Don’t worry about him,” he whispered under his breath. Then, the plane began to descend to the ground.

***

When we touched down at DIA, Zhongrui and the other bodyguard, Mingsan, escorted us out of the plane ahead of all of the other passengers. Kris, Tao, followed by me, Luhan and Yixing broke into customs and, to my pleasure, got to skip the line. Before we exited customs to go into the real airport, Yixing stopped for the bathroom and Tao pulled Kris aside to talk in privacy.

Luhan must have seen the look of concern on my face, because he came up next to me. “Don’t worry about Kris,” he said, casually putting his arm around my shoulders. “Tao and him have been best friends ever since we all started in EXO. Kris found a girl, and devoted a lot of time and energy into her, but he got his heart got broken; Tao took care of him, and Kris vowed never to let the same thing happen to Tao. They’re like brothers. Very protective of each other, and very hesitant to let each other roam free. But he is nice, I promise.”

I sighed. “Kris is kinda right, though. I’m a nobody. Tao is world famous. He’s the King of China, for God’s sake, and I don’t even have a dress for his concert tonight!” I looked at Luhan, clearly distressed.

He smiled back down at me. “You might think you’re a nobody, but I don’t. Tao certainly doesn’t. As for the dress… I can get Zhongrui to figure something out. Don’t stress. Everyone - except maybe Kris - is on your side.”

Lay came out of the bathroom nodding and shaking his hands dry. “I got your back, Luna.”

I smiled. Luhan and Yixing were both so warm and friendly. Then, Tao and Kris came back, both with angry expressions on their faces. Tao came to my side, and Kris stayed as far away from the two of us as he could. I looked to Tao questioningly, but he refused to meet my eyes. “Zhongrui,” he said, “stay by her at all times. Mingsan, you watch us.”

Without another word, he squeezed my hand quickly and turned to walk through the door, side by side with Kris, Yixing, and Luhan. It was impressive to watch; four tall, attractive idols, walking into a crowd of screaming fans.

Zhongrui took my hand and nervously, I followed them. “Head down, sweetie,” Zhongrui mumbled. “We don’t need any unwanted publicity.” Hastily, I did as he told me to right before we hit the crowd.

It was terrifying.

It felt as though I was drowning; I had almost no control over my body. People on all sides of me were pushing and shoving and screaming. Cameras were flashing violently and I was being thrown from side to side like a tumbleweed in the middle of a desert. The only reason I managed to escape was Zhongrui’s strong, rough hand, refusing to let go of me as he pushed through the sea people.

“Who is she?”

“Why does she have a bodyguard?”

“Is she with them?”

Voices were yelling all around me, asking questions. Gradually, it faded until I felt Colorado’s fresh air on my face. Zhongrui tossed me into a car seat and I heard the door slam behind me, muffling all of the sounds. Only then did I open my eyes.

I was in a limo, for the first time. Tao and Kris were being ushered through the door on the other side by Mingsan, who jumped in after them to join Yixing and Luhan across from me.

“You alright?” Yixing asked, noting my colorless face. Tao slid next to me and studied me carefully. Kris shut the door and we were off. 

I nodded to Yixing. “That was ing horrifying.”

Everyone except Kris and Tao laughed. Both of them were both clearly angry with each other, facing opposite directions and hardly touching the other though they were seated side by side.

“You did great, sweetie,” Zhongrui called back from the shotgun seat. I grinned and turned to look at Tao. He gave me a penetrating look and asked quietly if he could sleep on my shoulder. I nodded and he was soon out cold.

“So, you know this place well then?” Yixing asked. Luhan already had his earbuds in.

“Hell yeah!” I replied, excited. “When I was in high school, my friends and I would drive to Denver every Friday night to do dumb .”

Gradually, the countryside turned into the outskirts of Denver, and then downtown. I showed Yixing everything I remembered; the sketchiest railroads, the sports fields, amusement parks, ghetto schools and neighborhoods, best bars, stores, and all the places that I had performed. At last, the limo rolled to a stop in front of an enormous skyscraper in the heart of downtown Denver. Zhongrui and Mingsan opened the doors for us and before we entered the building, I got a glimpse at the gold letters on it; MILE HIGH PLAZA.

When we walked into the lobby, I could tell it was deluxe. The pillars and desk were marble, and the floor was carpeted in fancy designs and regal colors. All the room letters and numbers were in gold. 

“Ah, yes… there are only five rooms reserved for you, sir,” the receptionist told Mingsan, a look of judgement passing onto her face as she saw all the asians in her lobby. Everyone looked at me and Tao expectantly, and my face immediately flushed. No way was I sharing a room with him.

Luckily, Luhan saved me. “Lay and I can share, not a problem.”

Our rooms were on the fifty second floor. Mingsan handed us each our cards and him and Zhongrui returned downstairs to get our luggage. Tao came with me into my room to make sure the card worked, and when it did, he still insisted on staying with me. 

Once the door was shut, I turned to him. “Are you okay?” I asked. Ever since his talk with Kris, he had been much cooler towards me. “If you want me to go home, I can do that.”

“No, no, no,” he said hastily. “Don’t leave.” He sighed deeply and collapsed onto my bed. “I’m sorry, I know I’m not behaving as I should. Kris just put a lot of doubt into my head, plus I always get nervous for shows, and I haven’t slept much at all.”

I studied his flawless face for a moment. “Well, what time do you have to get ready?”

“Glam teams will come at 5:30.”

“Take a nap then. I have to clear my mind anyway, so I’ll go out and get you some caffeine. You’ll have more energy then.”

He sat up and looked into my eyes for a second with that piercing look. My breath left me for a second. Then he took both of my hands in his and pulled me closer to him, so that I was standing between his legs. His head was parallel with my chest, but his eyes did not fall from my face even for a moment. My heart began to pound. What is he going to do?

He hugged me gently. “Thank you, Luna. Can I sleep in here while you’re gone?”

I smiled, relieved, and nodded.

***

I got back from my short walk at about 5:20 and opened my room quietly to see Tao still asleep on the bed, his mouth open slightly and his face completely relaxed and worryless. My luggage had been placed neatly in the corner, and there was a box I had never seen on my suitcase. 

Curiously, I placed the Monster I had bought Tao on the bedside table and peeked into the box. Inside, there was a lacey black dress - without a doubt the dress that Luhan had promised me. I grinned and put the top back onto it; I didn't want Tao to see it until he had to.

I yawned and stretched my arms out in front of me, walking over to the window. I had always been a city person; I loved the lights and sounds, the hustle, the people and the aura. Being this high up was simply incredible. You could see all the people on the sidewalks, talking on their phones or laughing with their friends. You could see people smoking cigarettes at bars, sitting outside and enjoying a coffee, walking their dogs and greeting each other. Cars sped down every street, honking occasionally and stopping for lights. There were trolleys and buses and taxis and trains. Not only could you see half of Denver, but there was also a view on the mountains; the flatirons, Longs Peak, all of it. I could even make out the valley that Boulder was nestled inside of; my home, the place where I had grown up.

Suddenly I felt Tao’s arms slid around my waist as he rested his chin on my shoulder. A smile came onto my face.

“Good morning. I didn’t hear you get up.”

“Mmm,” he replied sleepily. “You’re my new favorite thing to wake up to.”

My face flushed and my heart rate began to increase.

“TAO!” someone called, knocking on the door. “Glam time, let’s go! In your room now!”

Sighing, he let go of me and made his way to the door.

“Wait!” I said abruptly. 

He turned around.

“Your drink,” I said, pointing to the Monster.

He gave me a smirk, grabbed it off of the table, and walked out.