{A/N: Is this the reality you wanted?}

- - - - -

School was let back in a few days after New Years. You were happy though; school had always been your safe haven, ever since you were young. Sometimes class would get boring and repetitive, but the guys all kept it interesting for you.

Lay would draw doodles of the other members during your art class, making you laugh. You would meet up with one or all of the boys for lunch, Xiumin surprising you day with a large cupcake with yellow frosting he had made himself because he thought you looked sad that morning. Each day was exciting simply because you had these wonderful boys in your life.

"Haerinnie~" sang Tao as he placed an arm around your shoulders, smiling at you as you both walked down the hall. "Ready to eat lunch?"

You nodded and smiled softly. "Is everyone already in the library?"

"You're just eating with me today~" he declared. "Well, Kris and me."

You nodded again, leaning into Tao's half-embrace automatically. Tao beamed when he felt you move closer to him, leaning down to sneak a kiss on your cheek. He watched in satisfaction as your cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink, your soft lips curving upwards into a small, shy smile. *Adorable.*

Tao opened the door of the library for you, leading you in. He went to a table in the corner by the window where Kris already sat, drinking from his silver flask you knew contained his blood for the day. "Afternoon, mei mei," he greeted with a small bow of his head, a smile playing at his lips.

"Morning, gege," you replied, sitting down and taking the lunch Lay made for you. Lay was stubborn, really. You wanted to take turns making the members' lunches. Well, actually you wanted to make everyone's lunch every day, but Lay would have none of that. So the two of you took turns making lunch. Today was your turn, but Lay insisted on making yours.

"This is yummy, Haerinnie!" Tao said as he ate his chicken with a bright smile.

"I'm glad you like it." With a grin, you started eating your rice, taking a drink of your tea afterwards. "What do you think, Kris ge?" you asked, blinking at Kris when you noticed him swallow a bite.

"Delicious, as always," he said with an easy smile. It was getting easier for him to smile at you and talk to you. And that made the both of you happy. "Thank you for making it mei mei."

"Oh no, I enjoy it! I like making lunches. Though...it is nice that YiXing ge makes mine for me every morning." Biting your lip, you smiled and looked down at your lunch. "Since...no one's ever made me anything. Unless I went to a restaurant." You nodded, your smile remaining the same, but your eyes tinging with sadness.

Kris and Tao felt their hearts squeeze painfully. *That's right.* Kris looked down. *You've always had to fend for yourself. It's a wonder you didn't die when you were young. Guess you were too strong for that, huh?* Kris felt himself smile sadly.

Tao poked your waist to make your smile happier.  When it worked, he did a mental victory dance. "Smile," Tao whispered, tilting your chin up with one finger playfully and tapping your nose. "And keep it on. It looks beautiful."

Kris frowned when he saw you blush from Tao's words. *Aish. I can't just be sweet like that to her! She'd think I was weird! I can be nice and polite and a gentleman, sure! But compliment her so casually?* Kris sighed.

"What's wrong?" You blinked at the tall blond, worried.

"Nothing," he assured, reaching over to place his hand on the top of your head, ruffling your hair slightly. He chuckled when he saw you pout automatically, your hands reaching up to fix the flyaway strands.

"Haerinnie, open up~" Tao held out a piece of the chicken.

"Oh no, I'm fine. That's yours, Tao." You smiled at him but he pouted.

"Harinnie~ I want to feed you. Please?" He puffed his cheeks out. "Please?" he repeated.

"Fine." You couldn't help but give in to Tao's wide, shining eyes. He beamed and held the chicken out, feeding you a small bite. Tao grinned widely, ruffling your hair. "Cute."

Kris huffed, tearing a violent bite out of his chicken with his teeth, turning his head away from the rather affectionate scene.

- - - - -

It was about five o'clock. You and Lay were discussing what to make for dinner, Lay holding your hand and rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb. Usually, he would've been pulled away from you. But Kris was in his room. Xiumin and Chen were studying together in Xiumin's room. Tao was volunteering to help a beginner's wushu class and Luhan was...

Well, you didn't actually know where Luhan was. Lay told you he was probably out running errands. But really, last time that happened and he was alone, you found out he was a vampire.

"Do you want something light or a bigger meal?" Lay asked as he kissed your temple, running his fingers through your hair.

"I'm not sure." You were getting used to skinship with Lay, though it still made you a bit uncomfortable. Though you didn't pull away. You liked this feeling. It was the feeling of being...loved. One you'd never felt before.

"Hm...do you want Chinese? Western? Korean? Italian?" He kissed your cheek with a smile.

"Can we have hot pot?" you asked Lay. He nodded and chuckled, kissing the corner of your mouth, causing you to blush brightly. "But first, can we call Luhan ge?"

Lay flinched inwardly when you said Luhan's name even though Lay was right beside you, holding you a