“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me; danger is very real but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed.”

— Cypher Raige, After Earth

Luhan tried not to let his fear showed as they climbed up but the higher they went, the scarier it seemed from up high, the more he wished he had asked what she wanted to do, realizing why Sehun refused to go with her. He was starting to regret this. He was starting to regret this big time.

Finally they had reached the top of the cliff. Sohee went over to the edge and turned back to him, grinning. “Thanks for coming up with me,” she said. “I could never get the others to come up with me before.”

I can see why, Luhan thought, his face pale. He felt a bit nauseated, like he was going to vomit. But he didn't want her to know that he was afraid of heights. “How high do you think we are from the ground?” he asked, trying to keep his voice leveled.

He did not want to look as if he was a huge chicken.

“Erm.” Sohee glanced down and it was all he could do not to go up to her and bring her back. He was scared that she might fall and die. “About ten meters high?” she roughly estimated.

Luhan felt his soul escaping his body like a lifeless ghost, his body going a bit limp. He looked around for something to grab before he fainted but he realized that everything grab-able were a distance from him — off the cliff, that is.

Sohee, oblivious to his white face, turned back to the waterfall and said, her back facing him, “Come on; I bet I can jump more gracefully than you.”

I bet you can just jump graceful or not. Luhan wanted to faint. He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, he would find himself safe on the ground, and not at such high places.

Sohee wants this. Stop being a chicken, he mentally scolded himself. He had seen the way her eyes lit up when he offered to go up with her. He didn't want to disappoint her now and ruin this chance to impress her. So he swallowed hard — but still he could not find the willpower to open his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes flew opened and he realized he was looking up to her. He couldn't remember how he had ended up squatting on the ground but then again, everything about him failed if he was scared and he was beyond scared right now.

Luhan nodded numbly.

Sohee blinked and tilted her head to a side. "You're scared of heights, aren't you?"

"Wh - What?! N - No! I'm not!" he spluttered quickly. "Nuh uh." He shook his head furiously.

"You have the same look on your face I get whenever I have to swim in the ocean," she said softly. "It's a look of fear. You are scared of heights like I am scared of the ocean. You don't have to lie about it."

He hung his head. "I'm sorry," he muttered, feeling like a complete loser.

Sohee shook her head. "It's fine." She smiled and he dared to look up — and his heart skipped a beat when he realized the smile was genuine. He couldn’t trace any hint of anger or any disappointment in her smile and eyes. She really didn’t mind. "We'll just have to turn back, I suppose."

Oh, no.

“N – No, w – we’ll jump," he blurted out without realizing what he was saying. "I – I want to jump. Let’s jump."

Sohee blinked. She knew he was scared — heck, his knuckles were as white as his face — but when she looked at his face, she could see that he genuinely wanted to jump. She softened. He wanted to do it for her. It was because no one else dared to jump with her. "Are you sure?" she asked. She didn’t want him to regret it.

Luhan nodded decisively and he stood up. He walked over to where she was. "I'm sure," he replied firmly.

She smiled, touched by his actions. "Okay. We'll jump together." She led him slowly over to the edge of the cliff.

He followed, taking a deep breath. It was his first step to get over his fear of height, but he never thought that it was going to be this scary. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down when he felt a pair of soft hands entwined with his and he opened his eyes to see Sohee was holding onto his hand. Sohee gave it a light squeeze, smiling reassuringly at him. "It's going to be all right," she said and Luhan felt like it was going to be. He smiled back and nodded. It felt like he was going to be safe as long as Sohee was there. It made the jump less scary than it actually seemed.

Then they jumped.

Luhan closed his eyes and held onto her hand tightly, screaming on top of his lungs. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through him, the sounds of the wind howling and the sounds of the waterfall deafening his ears, feeling the wind blowing against him. And then he hit the cool, hard water.

Then it was all over.

He came up for air, spluttering water, just as Sohee came up. They looked at each other and grinned before they both burst out into laugher. It was a great experience and he was glad to have done it with her. It was only then they realized, by some miracle, still holding hands. But it felt nice and neither of them wanted to let go just yet.

Finally Luhan laughed and splashed water at her with his free hand, making sure she was prepared so the water didn’t get into her eyes. "That was fun, although scary." He smiled and splashed more water her way.

Sohee laughed too, covering her face from the splash before she splashed back at him. "You should've heard yourself screaming."

"You screamed back," he teased.

The two of them continued to bicker playfully as they swam back to where the others were. Luhan smiled, feeling his heart skipping as Sohee squeezed his hand gently again. He could get used to this.

He looked up to see the shocked expression on his friend's face. He grinned. "Hi, guys, how are you doing?"

Their face expressions were priceless.

Kris took a sharp intake of breath. "Okay, who are you and what have you done to my friend, Luhan?" he wanted to know.

He only laughed as Tao gaped at him. "Gege! I thought you were afraid of heights! When did you suddenly get so brave?" He could not stop gaping at him in awe and with a newfound respect.

Luhan only stole a glance at Sohee who blushed and smiled prettily at him. He looked to his left and saw Sehun sulking, glaring at him. It made him smirk. Beat that, he taunted in his mind. I jumped with her despite my fears of height while you sat down here like a coward. What are you doing to do about that, huh?

Sehun's scowl deepened as if he could hear his thoughts, and he turned around, getting angry with himself for being a coward. He wished he went with her first. He turned back just in time to see that they were holding hands.

That made his heart drop a little.

Oh.

Sohee obliviously turned and smiled at him. She gave him her eyesmile and he chuckled, unable to hold back the overwhelming cuteness she was giving him. "Did you see that, Hunnie Oppa?" she said, calling him by the nickname she had given him. “Did you see how I jumped off that cliff?”

Cute, he thought.

Luhan watched as the older boy managed a smile for Sohee's sake and nodded. "Neh, you were flying."

“Really?” Her eyes gleamed.

"Next time, you have to come with me and jump together. Promise?" She let go of Luhan's hand and held her pink out expectantly toward Sehun.

Luhan's smile faded.

What did she say?

Sehun blinked in surprised but nodded. He grasped her pink with his and locked it together. "Sure. I'll jump with you next time."

Sohee's smile suddenly morphed into a smirk and she got out of the water, dragging him along with her back to the cliff. "Great! Because the next time is here!" She laughed and pulled him up toward the cliff.

"Wha — yah, Sohee!" Sehun yelped in surprise, not believing the fact that he had been tricked by her. "Waaiit! I’m not ready for this!"

“Too bad! You’re coming with me!” Sohee giggled and everyone could hear her laugh and Sehun’s whines and complains as they made their way up.

Luhan watched with a disheartened feeling as they jumped off the cliff, not able to take his eyes off them. That was supposed to be their moment, his and Sohee's. It was supposed to be special. He sighed and turned to XiuMin who had a thoughtful look on his face.

It was clear that he had wanted to jump with his sister.

Well, that certainly doesn’t feel special anymore. With a sigh, he sank down deep into the river, wishing he could just stay there and drown. However he panicked when he realized he wasn’t getting enough oxygen and came up for air.

“So much for drowning,” he grumbled to himself. He looked up and saw Tao and Kris giving him a weird look. He shrugged and swam away.

When Sohee and a frightened Sehun came back, XiuMin got to his feet, determined to jump with his sister. "Sohee-yah, can we jump together too?"

Sohee beamed, glad that she now had people to jump off the cliff with. "I was going to ask you," she replied and the two of them went upSehun smirked and turned to a still upset Luhan when he was sure everybody was watching XiuMin and Sohee instead of them. He wandered over to where Luhan had swam off with a smug expression on his face.

“What do you want?’ Luhan scowled.

Sehun only shrugged and casually said, "The thing about Sohee is that she's not bias. She doesn't play favorites. If she does something with someone, surely she would do it with others as well. Don't think you're special."

"At least I went up with her first," he retorted defensively.

But the younger boy was unperturbed. He smirked. "What's the point in being the first when you're not going to be the only one?"

Luhan, seething, didn't say anything and turned to sulk. He didn't like how he agreed with what Sehun say.

Stupid idiot.

“Lunch time!” Suho called out, saving him from having to say anything and from being in the presence of an immature brat. He quickly swam out.

Everyone got out of the water, to the picnic blanket, where the food was laid out for them to eat. “Is everyone here?” Suho wanted to know, glancing at everyone.

Chen did a quick head count and nodded. “Yeap, all thirteen of us are here,” he told Suho, sitting down on the mat.

“Let’s eat!” exclaimed two starving boys, Tao and Chanyeol, rubbing their palms together in anticipation. “Food!” they practically drooled.

Everyone happily dug into their meal and were lapsed into silence except for the occasional chewing or sounds of people asking to pass the food around. It was an easy atmosphere that was felt everyone.

As they ate, XiuMin got Sohee to tell him more about herself. Needless to say, he was amazed that she was so bold, so daring, but he had to admit that he liked her like this. All in all, he was grateful that she was still alive . . . although he had to question the kind of company she had for the past ten years.

Six boys and a defenseless girl? Not exactly the best company. What if they get . . . dirty . . . and tried doing things to her? Or have they already done it to her?

He glanced at each of the six boys carefully.

Suho looked like a friendly person, with that warm smile of his, but you shouldn’t dismiss it so easily. Underneath, he could be a pedo. You just couldn’t be too sure. He could be a pedo with a creeper face.

Baekhyun was . . . too pretty, especially with those dark lines under his eyes. XiuMin leaned in to get a closer look and his eyes bugged out. Eyeliner? How and where can you find eyeliner on this deserted island? And how does he apply it so . . . well . . . nice? He shook his head. He’d need to watch out for the Eyeliner Boy. Who knows what else he was capable of doing. . . . But eyeliner, seriously.

XiuMin turned to the boy sitting next to Baekhyun. It was Chanyeol. He narrowed his eyes, conducting suspicion on the guy who looked like he was on crack. He could go insane and lose control and what if Sohee just happened to be there when he was?

It must never happen.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, looked safe and innocent and the least to do anything to Sohee. With his bug-eyes, XiuMin could tell he was not the kind that would do anything. But that doesn't mean he was checked off the list.

Jongin — oh, that Jongin — looked exactly like a likely suspect to be a , especially with those luscious thick lips and that sleepy gaze that could pass for iness — not that XiuMin was attracted to it, no, he did not swing that way, nuh-uh — could most likely lure his poor, innocent, sweet sister into victim. And with his hand resting on her thigh . . . XiuMin glowered at him.

Jongin looked up and saw XiuMin's facial expression. He blinked, looked at where he was glowering at, and quickly retreated his hand from her thighs, shivering slightly from his piercing gaze.

He's scary, he thought.

Once XiuMin was sure Jongin wasn't touching his little sister, he moved to the last boy. He frowned. He didn't like the way Sehun was sitting so close to her. He couldn't see any space between them. It didn't helped a bit when Sehun rested his head on her shoulder and she patted his head tenderly. Was something going on between them? He had a feeling of uneasiness inside of him.

He turned his head and saw Luhan practically boring holes through Sehun's head with pure jealousy.

That made him frown.

Great.

Not only did he have to watch out for the six boys that lived with Sohee, making sure they did not try to do anything funny to her, he was going to have to watch out for his friends as well. If Luhan could be jealous, who knows just what his other friends could be thinking of about her too?

He sighed, shaking his head in exhaustion, his mind whirring from all those thoughts. Being a big brother can be tiring.

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welp, it's been long since I last updated heh >< I do apologize for the lack of updates. It's just that I wasn't at the right state of mind to update but now that it's the holidays, hopefully I'll get rid of those writer's block and update more often ^^ if I don't, I'm sorry otl

anyway, poll time~ click here