“Seriously?” Byunghun murmured in annoyance as he peered into the nearly empty fridge, lamenting the low grumbling in his stomach.  A quick glance in the cupboards showed a similarly bleak wasteland of shelves and he grumbled under his breath.  He knew they should have gone shopping this past weekend…  “Guys!” he called, trudging back into the living room which was currently occupied by the animated figures of Chanhee and Jonghyun competing fiercely in a round of Dance Central while Minsoo, Daniel and Changhyun watched and laughed, egging them on.

                Tearing his attention away from the faltering dirty blonde haired Chanhee who simply couldn’t keep up with the boundless energy of the youngest in their group, Minsoo looked to the side, tipping the edge of his ever present cap up to see him better.  “Neh?  What’s up?”

                “There’s like nothing to eat here.  Someone’s going to have to make a food run,” Byunghun explained with a scratch of his straight platinum hair, frowning at his being ignored by the rest of the group.

                “Not it!” Changhyun stated immediately, placing his finger on his nose as he grinned at being the first to call it, stiff blue spiked hair pointing up just like his other hand as if he was a student in school.  The words started an immediate chain reaction as the rest of the group, dancers included, hastily applied their fingers to their noses with shouted cries of, “Not it!”

                Jonghyun and Chanhee both grumbled aloud when their interruption ruined the lengthy streak they’d both managed in the game.  “Hah!” the latter grinned, smirking as the margin between their scores shrank further.

                “Not a chance,” the younger snorted, throwing himself back into the competition, completely ignoring the rest of the decision for food behind him.

                “Well that worked well,” Daniel grinned, looking at the other four who still had their fingers to their noses.

                “I guess there’s no other choice,” Minsoo smiled mischievously as he leaned forward, a familiar gleam in his eyes.  “Kai bai bo!” he called, slamming his fist into his open palm loudly.

                “Aw, man,” Byunghun grumbled, rolling his eyes as the rest cheered at the decision, even managing to pry the two dancers from the game as they about fell over each other to get in on it.

                “Hey!” Changhyun cried out as Jonghyun actually shoved him out of the way to make his own spot almost right where the second youngest had been.

                A steely glare from Byunghun kept his person otherwise unharmed when it seemed as if Chanhee might make a similar move, which was just as well.  He was so not good at this game…  “Fine,” he muttered, a smile tugging at his lips anyway, despite knowing pretty much how it was going to end.

                Five minutes later found the blonde Byunghun walking with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he headed for the grocery store a few blocks from the apartment he shared with Minsoo and Chanhee.  The other three were visiting for the evening in a semi-regular ritual of food, fun and games, only this time they were rather ill-prepared.  “With your long legs, one would think you’d manage to keep up better,” he called over his shoulder at the other ‘loser’ of the game: one lanky, goofy and utterly impossible to dislike Daniel.

                “Yeah, but if I take my time, I’m not almost walking on your heels at every step,” Daniel responded without missing a beat, completely earnest in his statement.

                Byunghun flashed him the beginning of an annoyed glare but then sighed as he realized he hadn’t even meant anything by the statement.  “Whatever you say,” he shrugged instead, smiling anyway.  The shaggy haired brunette had a fascination for the world he just didn’t understand and his almost childlike wonder never failed to entertain.

                “Hyung!  Look at the puppy!” he pointed animatedly with a delighted squeal, seeing another pedestrian walking their small dog on the other side of the road.  “Let’s go say hi!” he urged, ready to bolt across the street.

                “Daniel!” Byunghun growled, snagging the longer arm that almost pulled out of reach before he could grab it.  “Wait pabo,” he demanded, yanking the younger boy back as the car he was ready to disregard chugged by.  It probably could have stopped in time, but it simply wasn’t a good idea to head out in front of anything even remotely resembling a moving vehicle.

                “Yah!” Daniel yelled, fairly reminiscent of a girl as he clung to Byunghun with unfeigned relief, eyes wide in his face while his heart raced.

                The shorter male sighed and shook his head, pushing at the tight arms wrapped around him in a stifling manner.  “You are so flighty sometimes.”

                “But it was a puppy…and it was so cute…” he pouted, looking in the direction of where he had last seen said creature, already considerably further down the street and not really worth chasing after anymore.

                “I swear…” the elder huffed, finally managing to disentangle himself, tapping on the taller boy’s arm to get his attention.  “Come on.  The sooner we get to the store, the sooner we can get back and show them all how much they for sending us out here,” he winked, drawing an entertained grin from his companion.

                “Neh!” Daniel cheered, practically hopping in place in his enthusiasm.  Without any further interruptions of puppies or near misses, they made the shopping center just fine and spent considerably longer than they intended browsing and sampling the items they had spread throughout the store.

                “No.  You’re hyper enough without the sugar,” Byunghun warned as he eyed Daniel trying to throw a bag of gummy bears into the hand cart.

                “But-”

                A raised brow had him placing it back on the shelf, only to find another item he wanted which he also tried to put in the cart.  “Daniel…”

                “Just one?” the taller grinned charmingly, holding a bag of sour patch kids between his hands gleefully.

                “No.”

                “Please!” he pleaded, moving close to throw his arms around the shorter male again, not in the least bit bothered by the looks he was garnering.

                “Ugh…” Byunghun groaned, more than aware of the spectacle they made.  “Fine.  Just-”

                “Yay!” Daniel cheered, hopping in place and throwing the candy in the hand cart held by his companion, completely missing the accompanying face palm as he scurried ahead to find something else to wheedle his way into their purchase.  It wasn’t that he didn’t have money, but it was infinitely fun to see what he could get the elder male to buy for him anyway.

                With a long suffering sigh, the blonde turned to focus on a different aisle as he appraised the items.  “Minsoo likes these and I know Chanhee prefers this kind,” he murmured to himself, idly throwing favorites of his roommates into the steadily filling cart.  He nearly jumped when Daniel suddenly appeared at his side.

                “Byunghun hyung!  Here,” he grinned, offering a speared meat and cheese wrap he’d filched from the deli section.

                “You are hopeless,” the blonde laughed, hesitantly opening his mouth to accept the gift, feeling somewhat self-conscious as the other fed him with a delighted grin.  “Thanks,” he managed around the bite, blinking in surprise when Daniel nodded and hurried off again.

                “I’m going to get another one!” he called, at least giving his companion a clue as to what was going on.

                The shorter male scratched his head with his free hand and shrugged helplessly.  “Anyway.  Who’s left?” he mused, wandering to the next aisle.  “Changhyun and…well, Daniel’s pretty much found his own,” he chuckled, eyeing the cart and the various items the younger male had managed to sneak in.  “This for Jonghyun and what do I want?”

                “These, right?” Daniel called, walking up and offering a bag of chips that the blonde often favored.  “They are the right kind, aren’t they?” he asked, uncertain all of a sudden that he had remembered wrong, staring at the bag as if searching for an answer.

                  Warmed by the fact that the younger male had in fact remembered correctly, Byunghun actually smiled and nodded in agreement.  “Neh.  Those will work nicely,” he answered with a chuckle.

                “Anything else?” Daniel asked, setting the bag into the hand cart and staring down at the selection intently.

                “I think we’re good unless you’re going to help,” Byunghun nudged the taller male.

                “Nope!  We’re good!” he responded, leading the way towards the front of the store so they could check out, stopping every so often to eye a handful of items on the shelves along either side of them.

                While they were in line, Byunghun had to hand off the carrying case to check his phone going off in his pocket.  Where you guys at?  The blonde rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “Minsoo worries too much,” he snorted, typing out a quick response and stuffing his phone back in his pocket.

                “Well, we did stay a bit longer than we should have,” Daniel agreed hesitantly as a glance outside the store showed it was getting quite dark, the streets lit by the lights on either side of the road.

                “Then they should have come with us,” Byunghun grumbled, waiting for the cashier to tally everything up before he flipped through the bills in his wallet and somewhat reluctantly paid for the groceries.  It was a bit more than he had intended but he’d just have Chanhee or Minsoo pick up the next round.  And no, he was not going to play kai bai bo then either…

                “Aww.  You’re just a sore loser,” Daniel laughed, giving the shorter male a merong that he missed but the cashier didn’t which clued him in on the unseen gesture.

                “Brat,” he muttered, turning around to swat the younger on the arm with a loud but mostly harmless smack.

                Daniel winced away as if broken and then grinned, laughing lightly as he took two of their three bags.  “Meanie,” he teased, sticking his tongue out at him again and fleeing when the elder male snatched the other bag from the amused cashier and chased after him.

                Laughing delightedly, the pair dodged the handful of people in their path and hurried onto the sidewalk, set on home.  They hadn’t made it more than a couple blocks before they pulled up short, slightly winded and nervously eyeing the group of young men about their age who were conveniently blocking the path as they loitered in the open.  There were five of them, all taller than Byunghun and most bore a larger build than either of them…

                “What’s the rush?” the tall pretty one asked, dark bangs swooping low, nearly covering one of his eyes as he regard the pair with evident interest and amusement.

                “Are those for us?” another asked, coming from the one with short dark hair and more masculine features while he eyed the bags of groceries with a smirk on his face.

                “Uhh…” Daniel blinked, with no idea what to say other than to take a half-step back uncertainly.

                “I’m pretty sure you can buy your own stuff,” Byunghun muttered darkly, feeling his pulse quicken as all eyes shifted to him and he took a step back in turn.

                “Probably,” the tallest shrugged, frosted blonde hair spiked up helping to show off a deceptively…cute face and eyes that danced with amusement.  “But we want your stuff, shorty,” he continued, pointing at the pair.

                “Come on, hyung,” Daniel urged quietly, nudging the shorter male with his arm, noticing the way he bristled at the insult.  “We can take another route,” he murmured, knowing it was considerably longer but at least it was away from them.

                “Or you can just leave that with us and we’ll let you go on your merry way,” the one in the middle shrugged, slightly shorter than the rest of the group but apparently the one they deferred to if their amused but silent agreement was anything to go by.  “After all, I’m sure you could afford it, little one,” he smirked, eyeing the blonde’s attire with a knowing eye.

                Weighing the odds against them, Byunghun managed not to say anything in retort, though he certainly wanted to.  Just because he knew how to dress fashionably and had more of a care to his appearance than his companion, not that he wasn’t fashionably dressed too, didn’t mean he was a money tree…  And he already knew he was short; he didn’t need to be reminded of it every two seconds.  “Bugger off,” he grumbled, forcing himself to turn around to Daniel’s relief.

                It wasn’t until they both started to move that they heard the group actually following them and they increased their pace.  The next thing Byunghun knew, Daniel yelled in surprise as someone grabbed one of his bags from behind and tried to yank it free.  He yanked it back and spun around, reacting by slamming the other bag into the short haired fellow who’d dashed in close.  “Oops…” he gasped, realizing in an instant what he’d done.

                “Why you little…” he started to say before Byunghun shoved him back, catching both of them unaware and giving them time enough to get a head start as he threw his bag at the rest of the group.

                “Come on!” he yelled at Daniel, dragging the younger boy after him hurriedly, arms and legs pumping furiously as they tried to get away.

                “Get em!” they  heard behind them, giving them energy enough to jump forward that much faster, with Daniel taking the lead early, his longer legs threatening to outdistance his companion.

                “!” Byunghun yelped, seeing the tall short haired blonde closing in fast.  He fumbled with his phone, intent on trying to call for some sort of help with no idea how he was going to manage to punch in the numbers.  When he realized the phone was ringing, he didn’t even believe it was possible as he saw the ID said CAP and clicked it on.  He didn’t get much more than a startled, “Help!” out before he felt someone grabbing at his light coat from behind.

                In his haste to shrug out of it, he lost the grip on his phone and he cringed when it clattered away, bits of plastic chipping off.  It didn’t matter just then though as he was free of his assailant and pelting off after the returning Daniel who had come back to make sure he was alright.  The taller male snagged his hand and pulled him after, lending speed to his shorter companion.  “Come on, Byunghun!” he yelped, trying to get them to safety.

                “Wait!  Not that way!” the blonde yelled in warning as he realized where his friend was trying to lead them.  “It’s…”  They rounded the corner between two of the buildings and sprinted a few more strides before they were forced to pull up short.  “A dead end,” he groaned, holding onto Daniel’s hand tightly as he turned around to face the group that had rather easily caught up with and cornered them.

                “Now look what you’ve gone and done,” the pretty dark haired one smirked, gesturing fluidly with his hand at their current predicament.

                “All of that only to get stuck in a corner,” the leader figure shook his head, clearly disappointed.

                “If you say you’re sorry, maybe he’ll take it easy on you,” the fifth person spoke from their midst.  Tall, blonde and almost feminine in his beauty, his appearance was a direct contrast to his current role.

                “Oh bite me,” Byunghun glared pushing Daniel behind him.

                “Don’t tempt me,” the short haired one chuckled, grinning as he advanced on them.

                The group as a whole was surprised when Daniel shouted out from behind Byunghun, his nigh on epic voice echoing off the walls as he cried out.  “Yah!  Somebody help us!  Hey!!”  His cry was cut short when his mouth was the first thing the short haired one swung for, shoving the blonde out of the way almost effortlessly.

                “Dammit Changhyun!  Stop spamming the same move!” Minsoo growled, mashing the buttons of his controller as he glared at the television screen, watching the animated fighters struggle valiantly against each other.

                The younger player laughed manically and just kept doing the same cheap move over and over again, not allowing Minsoo a chance to recover or retaliate.  “Who’s the winner now, huh?” he laughed, pounding the opposing character into the ground again with another stun-stomp that felled Minsoo with a crow of victory.  “Yes!” he cheered, jumping up with both hands and dancing in place.

                “I hate it when you do that!” Minsoo spat, struggling not to toss the controller to the ground.

                “Oh!  My turn!” Jonghyun urged, practically yanking the controller from Minsoo’s hands and chuckling evilly when he chose a character that Changhyun obviously dreaded if his resultant wails were any indication.

                “They’ve been gone a long time,” Chanhee commented as he sat down next to Minsoo when Changhyun hopped to his feet, squealing in panic as Jonghyun’s character chased his across the screen.

                “No!  No!  Jump!  Dodge.  No.  You’re supposed to block!” he practically screamed as Jonghyun continued to grin, skillfully chasing him down.

                “Neh,” Minsoo agreed, retrieving his phone as he removed his cap with his other hand to scratch his mid-length black hair, replacing it as he called his other roommate.  He was starting to get annoyed when it continued to ring until he heard the line connect.  “…elp!...”  The eldest sat bolt upright at the abbreviated word.  “Quiet!” he yelled, hopping to the television to turn it off, ignoring their outraged cries.

                “Hyung!”  “Hey!”  They fell silent at the look on his face as he listened intently to the phone, frowning intensely when he heard noise but nothing distinct.

                “!” he spat, bolting for the front door with the phone still in his hand.

                “Minsoo?” Chanhee asked, looking at the other two as he ran outside without a glance back.  They stared at each other for a second longer with wide eyes before the trio stampeded after him, hastily pulling on shoes and slamming the door shut behind them, the video game subsequently forgotten.

                Minsoo had no idea where they were exactly but considering the store wasn’t that far from their apartment and they should have been on their way back by now, he could only hope they were nearby.  He gripped the phone so hard his knuckles were completely white and he didn’t feel the way his bare feet scraped over the ground, only aware of the panic he’d heard in Byunghun’s voice and the sound of several other voices he couldn’t identify.

                He was slightly conscious of the others following him, the sound of their feet slapping over the pavement giving him the only indication of how close they were.  Vaguely, he noted a couple bags of discarded goods scattered around the area and paid them no mind, almost stumbling when a bag of chips exploded under foot, the sound and feeling wholly unexpected.

                Despite the slip, he maintained his lead ahead of the others.  They were fast, but he was faster and was the first to hear the muted cries escaping thinly from one of the alleyways he bolted past without a second glance.  Flesh skid painfully on the pavement as he stopped and backpedaled, allowing the other three to catch up when he stumbled into the alleyway, daggers in his eyes.  “Hey!  heads!” he snarled, bristling with fury as he saw five figures looming over what had to be Byunghun and Daniel curled up on the ground, desperately trying to avoid further harm.

                As one, the five stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the newest intruders.  “What the hell do you want?” the tallest asked darkly, spiky blonde hair giving him a couple inches as he took point.

                Mutely, Minsoo advanced on the other male, teeth bared in a silent growl.  When he was close enough, he swung around with a savage punch, managing a glancing blow on the slightly taller male who had half expected it.  “You!” was his only response as he followed up the punch with a swift kick planting his foot in the other’s gut and shoving him back.

                Behind him, his companions swarmed the other four swiftly.  Jonghyun was a compact ball of fury as he laid into the short haired one that stepped to meet him, murder in his eyes.  No one got to beat up on his friends.  That was his job.

                The pretty dark haired one stepped to assist Jonghyun’s target, only to be leapt on by a flailing Changhyun who latched onto his back and refused to let go, effectively impeding whatever he had been about to do.  “Get off me!” he yelled in surprised annoyance, trying to claw at the smaller boy in an attempt to remove him as fingers latched into his hair and onto his clothes.

                Chanhee tackled the remaining dark haired male instead of the pretty blonde, opting for the more intimidating of the two, and rolled around on the cold hard pavement, struggling for the upper hand.  An elbow to his jaw was answered with a dig to his opponent’s ribs with the same appendage and they both paused, hands locked into medium lengths of hair painfully.  Feet scrabbled for purchase as they tried to kick the other away, eliciting muted grunts and hisses of discomfort.

                Having knocked one target back, Jonghyun immediately set his sights on the pretty blonde who was belatedly reacting to the mayhem around him, not even caring about his feminine appearance.  More aware than his counterpart, the blonde young man managed to trade blows with the equally tall male with red highlights who was a spitfire ball of rage intent on knocking him out.

                “Hey!”  He was saved briefly by the short haired male returning to knock the redder haired male to the side and then it was two on one as Jonghyun struggled to defend against both of them without being knocked out in the process.

                Minsoo rammed the spiky blonde male’s back into the wall, fists clenching into his shirt as he brought his knee into contact with his ribs.  His fury was slightly curtailed when he received a head that stunned them both, leaving the pair dazed with hands on their foreheads as they stumbled apart.  “…” the eldest hissed, blinking unbidden tears out of his eyes, throwing himself back at the other male before either had fully recovered.

                Cornered by two of them, Jonghyun growled under his breath, fighting back when he could but pinned to the wall, receiving blow after hasty blow.  They weren’t unscathed, but he was outnumbered and slightly outmatched…  He was more than surprised when the short haired one stumbled back with an outraged cry, arms flailing wildly as he tumbled over the curled up body of Byunghun resting just behind his knees as Daniel pulled him backwards, throwing him to the ground roughly.

                Freed from one of his antagonists, Jonghyun wailed on the other attacker and pummeled him back, kicking him away where he stumbled and tripped over Chanhee and his opponent.  “Ow!” Chanhee yelped, wincing when the young man actually stepped on him and then fell on his friend awkwardly, allowing him to gain the upper hand.

                “ off!” Minsoo snarled, hurling his opponent bodily towards the front of the alleyway, watching him tumble with a pained cry.  Nursing a bloody lip, he wiped the red dribble from his chin and spat a frothy mouthful out, glaring at him as he stood up on shaky legs.

                “Let’s go,” one of them behind him called, helping the pretty blonde one edge around Minsoo who turned and followed their progress with his chest, hands balled into fists at his side.

                “Dammit kid!  Get the hell off me!” the dark haired pretty one yelled from the ground caught in Changhyun’s hair-pulling, chest grabbing grip, legs tightly wrapped around the slender waist.  The one on his back was obviously winded and smarting from the failed attempts to shake him loose but he looked the worse for wear with a torn shirt and faint claw marks on his forehead and cheek.

                Chanhee helped to pry the younger male off his opponent as he continued to reach for his retreating target aggressively.  “Enough, Changhyun!  Enough,” he urged, giving the other a rough shove to get him moving while Jonghyun did the same to the short haired male he continued to glare after, following slowly until he was past Minsoo well on his way out of the alleyway.

                “That’s what I thought!” he huffed, waving at them with a silent snarl.

                “We had it covered you know,” Byunghun’s voice laughed weakly as he limped towards the rest of the group, Daniel standing beside him with one arm wrapped around his waist, helping to support the slender frame as much as help himself stand steady.  Both looked pretty worked over with bedraggled hair, a bruised cheek, split lip and blackening eye between them.

                The absurdity of the statement helped to break the last bits of tension and Minsoo cracked a weary smile as he turned around and nearly fell when normal sensation returned and pain lanced through his abused feet.  He hissed in discomfort and carefully hobbled close to pat the blonde on the head in a friendly, endearing gesture.  “Sure you did, kid,” he smiled, earning a reluctant glare turned grin from his friend.

                “Yeah we did,” Daniel chimed in with a confident smile at Byunghun, letting Jonghyun fuss over him as he inspected the equally tall male intently, searching for additional injuries to carve out of their attacker’s hides later.

                “Pabo,” Chanhee chided lightly, smacking Minsoo in the back of the head with a gentle hand.  “Like you couldn’t stop for shoes?” he chided, pointing down at his bloody feet.  “Come on,” he nodded, turning around so the elder could clamber onto his back.

                Pouting like a chastised child, Minsoo sighed and actually did as was suggested, wrapping his arms lightly around Chanhee’s chest as he glanced over at Byunghun.  “You too, shorty,” he winked, smiling to take the sting out of the name.

                “,” Byunghun gave him a merong and limped after the pair as Chanhee started walking, shifting the older male carefully so he settled more comfortably on his back.

                “Yay!” Daniel cheered as Jonghyun practically dragged him onto his back so he wouldn’t have to walk either.  It was painfully obvious he was just as injured but his pride wouldn’t allow him anything less just then; especially since Chanhee was already doing the same for Minsoo.

                “Come on, hyung,” Changhyun gestured, hurrying close to Byunghun and grinning as he pointed at his back.

                “Really?” he asked with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

                “Just get on,” Minsoo called out without looking back, chuckling softly.

                “Fine…” he grumbled, hopping onto his friend’s back, secretly glad that he had offered and that he didn’t have to ask.

                “You good?” he asked, looking at the older male out of the corner of his eye.

                “Neh.  Wait.  No,” he amended, groaning.

                “What happened?” Chanhee asked, pausing so that both he and Minsoo could look back.

                “I lost my phone,” Byunghun pouted.  “And my coat.  And the food…”  The statement was considerably funnier than it was supposed to be and he couldn’t help but pout further when the group as a whole started to chuckle at his misfortune.

                “Don’t worry.  We’ll just order in tonight,” Minsoo grinned, giving him a thumbs-up from Chanhee’s back as they started on their way again.

                “But what about my phone?” Byunghun wailed into Changhyun’s shoulder, sighing in defeat when the younger simply pat him on the head.

                “It’s okay, hyung,” he encouraged.  “I’m sure we can fix that too.  Just not tonight is all.”

(a/n: I love and hate dream/late night inspired writing pieces.  Due in no small part because if I'd been even remotely focused on something else, I would have had another update done, if not part of another one too, but I enjoyed this one anyway and I hope you did too!

If it wasn't overtly obvious, the antagonists of this piece are Nu'est.  Baekho = tall with frosted blonde spikes; JR = leader dark haired figure; Aron = more masculine short haired male; Minhyun = pretty dark haired one and Ren = pretty blonde one for lack of a better guide.  I had hoped that in not using their names, they wouldn't come off as quite so...bad.  I needed a group that wasn't too large and that the four rescuers would actually have a chance against too and since one of my good friends is deeply against SHINee being even remotely evil...that left me with few choices.  haha  Thanks for reading though and if you're so inclined, please feel free to leave a comment!  <3)