The worried look on Minki’s face the entire drive to the store had Aaron on the side of his seat. They hardly spoke, though. Minki, because he didn’t think he could handle speaking to anyone at that point, and Aaron due to the fact that Minki was virtually silent. As they approached the building, Minki moved faster than the other. Aaron’s paced quickened, but he kept up. The maknae did not stop until he found his way to the produce section. In front of a large pile of bananas, he spoke a full sentence.

            “We need everything. That party wiped us out.”
            Aaron nodded, his eyes pasted to the back of Minki’s head, admiring it more than his work in the old studio, if that were at all possible. When Minki turned, his eyes caught Aaron’s and they both stopped for a moment. Aaron quickly looked down to the fruit and reached for a bunch. Minki’s hand brushed his. They both moved briskly apart, the blonde without looking up.

            “Could you go find some milk?” he asked quietly and politely. His skin was clammy and it was clear that he needed to breathe. To everyone in the store, the boy looked horribly ill, but to Aaron, he looked more beautiful than ever.

            Aaron nodded, not turning from him as he backed up and turned the corner out of the aisle. Once Minki was out of his sight, he slowly trekked across the store towards the section. He involuntarily placed his hands in his pockets as he walked, remembering the note that he had written not forty five minutes prior. He didn’t remove it.

            The cool air of the refrigerator hit him in the face and he backed away only to open it more to pluck a carton from the shelf. He closed the door and glanced back through it. The banana flavoured milk sat betwixt all other types. It didn’t take him longer than a second to retrieve one of those as well; he knew that they were Minki’s favourite. When he found himself back to where he was, in front of the bananas, the blonde was not far off. The elder placed the milks in the cart before stepping over to him. Minki hadn’t noticed him yet, which was good, because his mind was filled only with how he would inconspicuously slip the note into the younger one’s pocket with absolutely no one noticing. As the maknae rose, he panicked, pulling the paper from the pocket of his shorts and placing it in his jacket pocket. Minki was much too busy surveying the area to have seen the movement.

            “Someone’s watching me, I can feel it.” he told him quietly.
            “Watching you?” ‘Who wouldn’t watch you, Ren? You’re beautif—’ he thought quickly to himself before Minki finished his thought.
            “I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy.”

            Aaron said nothing.

            “I want to leave. Pay for the stuff. I’ll be at the car.”

            Before Aaron could have told him not to, Minki was gone. Aaron quickly moved through the store, to the cashiers. He placed the few items on the belt. His eyes wandered to the tabloid on the rack at his eye level.

            Where is NU’EST Baekho?
            Baekho Unseen. Comeback?
            NU’EST JR hospitalized
            Ren and JR; fanon or canon?

            He wasn’t going to deny it; he did think that the last of those headlines were all too clever. However, the first two were what worried him the most. If the public had noticed something, it was only a matter of time before Pledis gave them a call. And by them, he meant him. Aaron’s fingers tremored as he scanned the credit card through the reader and picked up the bags, bowing shallowly at the cashier.

            Minki sat atop the back of the car. His angelic tone against the bright morning sun contrasted with the knowledge of what was still in the trunk. The younger seemed to be slightly less frightened as he stepped down from his seat and stood. He ran a hand over his hair before holding his hand out, making an attempt to take them and set them in the trunk. Aaron’s arm twitched back as the other flew to the pocket that held the keys.

            “I’ll put them in the trunk. Start the car.”
            “No, we’ll keep them up with us. It’s like, two bags.” he responded quickly with an eager vibe about his words.
            “Just give them to me.” Minki came closer. Aaron backed away, towards the car.
            “No, I’ve got it.”
            “What’s your problem?” Minki came even closer now. If he had been any closer, he could have felt in his own lap the ever twitching sensation that Aaron felt in his. It was seconds before he could have felt that he narrowed his eyes, moving to the side of the car and placing his hand on the handle. All colour left Aaron’s face and he steadied himself against the warm metal. He stood and moved to his own side, unlocking the two front doors and sitting down. He heard the click of Minki’s seat belt as he reached over his seat and into the back. He listened as Minki’s fingers rummaged the side door pocket for a tissue.

            “Why do you keep sleeping pills in the car, of all places?” he questioned him. Again, the flushed of colour and mouthed the only word that could have described what he was feeling. “.” His heart raced but soon slowed as he heard the box against the door again. He directed his eyes to the front windshield as he sat.
“Kaeun must have left them there or something.”

            Minki believed him, looking forward as he placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. A thumb ran past the paper, but he ignored it until he realized that he hadn’t put it there. He pulled it from the cloth and kept his eyes on it for a moment before opening it. His eyes widened as he read. His face turned a blood red colour and he wanted to gasp, but he held himself.

            “Aron?” he said, his voice steady. Aaron didn’t turn.
            “Yeah?”
            “Someone was watching me.” The blonde’s voice was low.
            “Who could have been watching you?” he asked as they reached a red light. Aaron’s voice was the unsteady one as he turned to see the paper.
            “I don’t know. “ He paused. “Take me to the hospital.”
            “Ren, you’ll be fine.” Aaron half-panicked. “We’ll just go home. No one was watching you.”
            “Take me to the hospital.” he fought.
            “Why?” Aaron’s voice rose as Minki’s fear heightened.
            “Take me!” he nearly shouted now. “I need to see JR.” he finally answered.

---

            Minki raced through the doors of the hospital and Aaron sat completely still in his spot. His mind was empty, but his face was full of curiosity. Rage soon built as he thought of why Minki may have asked to have seen Jonghyun so quickly; he’d put it off and thought it must have been the fact that he’d always stand up for and protect the blonde, even if he didn’t need it. Perhaps because he was the leader, and Minki the maknae. But to his own surprise, it bubbled in his mind: What if that wasn’t the case?

            He parked the car in the same spot as before, locking it and checking the back hatch before entering the building. He glanced both ways for Minhyun or Joonkin after leaving the elevator. When they were nowhere to be seen, he proceeded to the room where Jonghyun lay. He stopped just short of the door, the window still a ways from his view.

            Minki laid next to Jonghyun, the bandages finally removed from his face and injured arm after that long week of rest. Jonghyun’s face was not visible to Aaron as he stepped closer to the door, looking in through the window. His eyes narrowed as he scowled. When the paper in the leader’s hands fell to his chest, both of his arms touched Minki’s lightly. Both of their voices were inaudible, and their faces straighter than Aaron would have called himself before all of these ideas grew in his head. The maknae smiled from the corner of his lips, but it died soon after. The moment that Jonghyun’s eyes met Minki’s, Aaron turned away.

            He wanted to shout but he wouldn’t. He wasn’t completely sure of anything that he’d just seen, but the look they had given each other said something more than a look between two friends. He believed for a moment that he was over thinking whatever it was that he was thinking, but took it back when he turned again. Their faces were not inches from each other. Only assuming what had just happened (or were to happen soon), he his heel again, not dropping his feet heavily as he walked. His hands were in fists as he drug them against the wall of the corridor.

            Minhyun appeared, looking brighter than ever at the news of Jonghyun’s recovery. His emotional slate was wiped clean and soon replaced with fear and anguish at the steam in Aaron’s eyes.