“What do you think Ming would enjoy doing? And could invite Yixing’s friends to?” You took a big bite of the breakfast sandwich you’d thrown together in a hurry before running out of your apartment. Once again, you’d overslept after having difficulty falling asleep in the first place. There was no irony lost on you in that terrible exchange. 

Ran - as well rested as ever - walked beside you, reading a gossip article on her phone. “Not much,” she admitted without looking up. 

“So, a small thing at your place is out?”

Ran snorted. “With the amount of friends Yixing has, the apartment would max out the fire code.”

Wide eyed, you looked to your friend. “How does he have so many friends?”

The reply was a shrug. 

Ran wasn’t nearly as curious as you were when it came to the Yixing/Ming dynamic, that much was obvious. Although, you couldn’t say exactly what it was that drove that curiosity. It was like an itch in the middle of your back that you couldn’t reach from any angle that you tried. The itch could be ignored, if you actually put any effort into doing so. Annoying, yes, but still sufferable. Only there was this tiny little string poking and pulling at you. And you didn’t want to ignore it. So you were going to yank at it until it snapped. 

“Maybe we should just get dinner,” Ran suggested half-heartedly. 

You mulled over the simplistic idea. Dinner - or drinks - could be a sure fire way of conversation and getting Ming to come along. It shouldn’t be too overwhelming for her or anyone else that came along. Maybe, if the table would allow it, you could even do some seat hopping. 

You finished off the sandwich with a smile. Before Ran turned to head to the mathematics building, she wiggled her phone at you. “I’ll text Ming, see what she says. I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to execute your plan.”

A loving smile spread on your lips. “You’re the best, you know that.”

“I entertain your ideas because it’s fun.”

You blew your best friend a kiss and a wink before heading off to your own class. 

Only half of the seats - old, squeaky, and scribbled on - were filled when you walked through the door. Choosing one at random, you unloaded the required textbook and color-coded matching notebook onto the limited space provided. A few rows over, a group of girls giggled in a volume that was hard to miss. Curiosity got the best of you. Sitting as still as possible, with a quiet breath, you strained to listen. 

“Has he come crawling back, yet?” one whispered excitedly. 

The one with Sleeping Beauty hair - Daisy, you thought her name was - shook her head. “Not a word out of him. But its only been two days. I expect a run-in next week.”

“You’re kind of mean,” said another one of her friends.

Daisy shrugged. “Stagnant relationships are boring. And I could tell he wasn’t as into it anymore, either. So why wait for him to end it?”

Though her methods were disagreeable, you saw her point. But if the spark started to fade, you put it in the water bucket and walk away. Oh, well. To each her own. 

The professor walked in then, settling the class and ending the interesting conversation. 

Class went by with extensive note taking and the occasional asking of a question. Everyone was attentive. No one goofed off or commented obnoxiously. It was something you appreciated about college over high school, especially with the longer you went on with your schooling. 

When it was well into the afternoon, you were practically skipping to the meeting spot with Ran. Unfortunately, she hadn’t heard back from Ming. 

“She hardly looks at her phone during the day,” Ran explained. “Too distracting for her workload.”

That was, regrettably, understandable, given the fact that she was trying to become a doctor. A profession that you couldn’t go into not only because the homework and testing would be overwhelming for you but the idea of working with blood made your stomach queasy. “Come on,” you sighed. “My stomach is rumbling.”

**

Your foot rapidly under the table. In your mouth, the tie string of your jacket laid horizontally between your lips, soaking the cotton strands. Since you and Ran decided to take a late lunch between your class schedules, the local diner was mostly empty. Beads of condensation rolled down the ice-filled plastic cup that previously had held your favorite soda. Almost as soon as it had been placed down on the table, you’d it down so quickly that Ran didn’t even try to not laugh at you. And the food you’d ordered wasn’t even out yet. 

“That hungry?” Ran teased as she sipped through the straw of her own drink. 

You spat out the string, letting it swing down to your chest. “Yeah. I shouldn’t have put eating off this long.” Only a partial lie. You were a bit ravenous, but that wasn’t the true source of the anxiousness. 

The real reason you were so antsy was the text Ran had gotten right before the two of you sat down. 

Ming had said that she already had plans Friday night but Yixing suggested that you and Ran could join them. The offer hadn’t been answered yet. In fact, you hadn’t really talked about a reply. 

“It was nice of Yixing to invite us,” you said, trying to be nonchalant in the sudden subject change. 

“Mhm,” Ran nodded. The look in her eye was cheeky, mischievous. She knew what you were doing. The curse of having been best friends for so long. “So. Should we go?”

You dropped the hopeless pretense. “Might as well, right?” 

The waiter finally brought out your food, light wisps of steam letting you know that it was hot and fresh. Your mouth watered while the greedy rumbling in your stomach grew. You thanked the waiter, advised that you didn’t need anything else and the moment, and then patiently waited for them to walk away before diving in. 

Ran swiped at the keyboard on her phone with her thumb with expertise. She’d barely taken two bites before her notifications beeped. A reply already. “Friday. Six o’clock. Yixing and Ming will be at the apartment and will tell the others to meet us there outside.”

“Excellent.” You smiled through the chewing. Things were falling well into place. “Did she say who all else would be going?” 

“No,” Ran said. “It just says ‘the others’.”

You chewed slowly on your food as you thought this over. It would be better if you had information on who else would be along for the events, even just knowing how many were coming would be helpful. You didn’t like not having all the details. That made it harder to create an exact plan. Not to mention, with no names or descriptions, you couldn’t do… research beforehand. How were you supposed to know who was taken and who was free to be flirted with? You would have to lean on your instincts and the clues given when the time game. 

“You’re making that face again.”

Blinking rapidly, you frowned at Ran. “What face?”

“The face you contort into when you’re thinking really hard. When you’re plotting.”

You raised an eyebrow. “And that’s new since when?”

“Oh, it’s not,” she laughed. “I just wanted you to know that you were making that face. You might want to be careful on Friday.”

You stuck your tongue out on her. “The faces I make are cute. Anyone would be charmed by them.”

“Sure,” Ran sang. “Try it on Friday and we’ll analyze the results.”

“I think that’s an experiment we’ll execute at a later date.” You finished off your lunch and sat back satisfied. 

Ran wiped her lips with a napkin. “Fair enough. Now let’s head back to campus. I have to get with a professor about a few homework problems that are driving me mad.”

While you rifled through your wallet, Ran waived down the water for your tickets. As soon as the meals were paid for, you left the diner to head back to campus to finish the day and ready yourself for Friday’s adventure.

**

“What do you think about this one?” Baekhyun asked for what must have been the twelfth time. Rather than getting annoyed, however, Chanyeol merely chuckled from where he was - sprawled out on Baekhyun’s bed, flipping through an old magazine. Some help he was. Baekhyun turned back to the mirror, fixed the collar of his button down, and nodded. “Yeah, this’ll do.”

Without a single knock, Sehun poked his head into the room. “You done yet? The rest of us are ready to go.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “We’ll be down in a second.”

Sehun nodded once and then closed the door again. 

“Do they know that you invited Daisy?” Chanyeol asked as he flipped another page. 

“Nope.” Baekhyun popped his lips on the “p” and smirked. He looked over at Chanyeol. “You know they’d never shut up about it and ruin everything. Besides… invite might not exactly be the word. I more… let it be known where we would be tonight and what time.”

“So, she might not even be there.”

“Oh, she’ll be there, alright.” Baekhyun ran a hand through his hair to add volume to the roots, adjusting the front bits until they fell just so. 

Shaking his head, Chanyeol jumped up from the bed and tossed the magazine aside. “This should be entertaining, at least.” He threw an arm around Baaekhyun’s neck and ruffled his hair. 

“Hey!” Baekhyun growled threateningly in his throat as he pushed his best friend off of him. All Chanyeol did was laugh some more and hightail it out there before Baekhyun could retaliate in true form. Later. He’d get him back later. 

Everyone was gathered in the kitchen when he stomped down the stairs. Well - almost everyone who was going out tonight. Junmyeon was still at the university going over the latest round of papers to grade. Yixing was already in town with Ming and it seemed Kyungsoo was down there with them. 

“Finally ready?” Jongin teased. 

“Finally ready?” Baekhyun mocked. He glanced around the room then furrowed his eyebrows. “Is this everyone?”

As if summoned, Jongdae emerged from the staircase. He didn’t look at anyone as he headed straight for the fridge. He said nothing as he opened the door, took out a green glass bottle, and let the door swing shut with a bit too much force. 

He looked terrible. Dark circles bruised under his eyes and despite the blank expression he constantly wore, there was an echo of pain behind it. His skin was pale from lack of sun. Baekhyun couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone on a run with them. 

No one spoke as Jongdae twisted off the lid and tossed the tiny piece of metal into the trash can. All eyes watched as he disappeared back up into the second floor. Minseok’s eyes stayed on the stairs, filled with worry. Ji Yeon gripped his shoulder. 

“He won’t even talk to me,” Minseok whispered. 

“He won’t talk to any of us,” Baekhyun pointed out, although the older member did have a point. He was closest to Jongdae. If the latter wouldn’t even open up to his best friend… it must be bad. But there wasn’t anything they could do at the moment. If he wouldn’t open up, there was no point in pausing their own lives. “Let’s go.”

They all piled into a couple cars to make the forty-five-ish journey into town. With Chanyeol and Sehun driving, however, it was more like thirty. As long as Junmyeon wasn’t with them, speed limits could be more of a suggestion. 

Chanyeol pulled his jeep over in front of an apartment complex that Baekhyun hadn’t seen before. It was close to campus but still a few blocks over from downtown. “What are we doing here?”

“Ming invited her roommate, Ran, and her friend to join us tonight,” Minseok explained from the back. “We’re meeting them here. Come on.” He hoped out with Ji Yeon close behind. They all gathered on the sidewalk to wait. 

Baekhyun’s foot was tapping against the concrete after about two minutes. His stomach was growling and he didn’t want to miss Daisy - if she really was going to show up tonight. That uncertainty made him anxious. If they took much longer, he was going to march up and knock on every door until he found the right apartment and forced them all out. For now, though, he simply leaned up against the brick building, hands stuffed in his pockets. 

“We need to figure out what’s going with Jongdae.” Minseok came up next to Baekhyun and leaned his shoulder on the wall. “He’s looking worse.”

Baekhyun frowned. “Has he given you any sort of hint?”

Minseok shook his head. “Not at all.”

“We’ll figure it out. You know Jongdae. He can’t stay silent for long.”

“This is definitely a new record for him.”

“There they are!” Sehun shouted, stealing away their attention. 

Out of the front doors of the apartment building walked five new people - two male, three female. Four of which Baekhyun recognized. Yixing and Ming were talking to Ran, who Baekhyun had met once or twice. Kyungsoo, on the other hand was talking to someone new. And as soon as Baekhyun’s eyes landed on that new female, something snapped into place. His eyes widened. He knew exactly what this was after hearing two of his fellow pack mates describe it in detail. 

Oh, .