The two red-faced people stood awkwardly in the silent kitchen, looking in the direction of the stairs as the sound of a door shutting quickly flew down the staircase, making the following silence seem even louder than before.  The two stole glances at each other, but looked away as soon as the other noticed them looking.  The air became thick with the awkward tension, yet neither moved to escape.  

Taecyeon opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it just as soon as it had opened and reached a hand up to his head, scratching it lightly.  His actions didn't go unnoticed by Cate, who had settled for running her hands through the kitten's fur to keep herself occupied.  She slowly placed Howl on her shoulder before picking up her plate and crossing the kitchen to put it in the sink, avoiding looking at Taecyeon as much as possible.  “I’m...  uh...  Going to go to bed now.  Good night.”  She rushed past him and ran up the stairs quietly before he had the chance to respond.

Time seemed to start again in the kitchen after she moved and left.  But it was still slow for Taecyeon, who now stood alone in the silent room.  He stared at the stairs in the other room for a while before a smile broke out on his face.  He was safe.  She didn’t know.  They were so close...  He could have kissed her...  On purpose this time...  DAMMIT NICHKHUN!

He lifted his arms above his head and wiggled his body a little in a happy dance, spinning around in a circle and laughing to himself before grabbing the rest of his bagel and taking a huge bite.  He then proceeded to choke on it once more.  He doubled over on himself as he coughed and grabbed for the glass of water.  Chugging it down, he coughed once more then sighed in relief.

Prrrrp!

He looked over to the other room and met the gaze of a pair of yellow eyes staring at him.  “What do you want?”

Cate ran into her room and shut the door as quickly and quietly as she could before her legs gave out, sending her first to the floor.  Her hands went to her racing heart and her head hit the door with a dull thud.  What... just happened?  Why do I feel so weird?

“Cate?” a tired voice came from the bed.

She looked up, “Go back to sleep Anya.”

“Migraine?” her best friend asked, concerned, the sleep making its way into her voice.

Cate nodded slowly, “Yeah.”  She got up from the floor and went to the bed, but knew she wouldn’t be sleeping very much.

The early morning sunlight streamed through the curtains and fell on Cate’s face, waking her up even though she had only just managed to fall asleep an hour before.  She grumpily got up and pulled the curtains shut, blocking the light from entering the room.  Once her mission was completed, she let her body fall to the empty bed. Anya?  Her eyes wandered over to the unoccupied pillow next to hers and she just stared in a sleepy daze.  “I’m going to the apartment to pick some of my art supplies tomorrow morning.  I’ll be back in the afternoon because I have some other I need to do too.”  Cate blinked then silently cheered in her head.  I can sleep!  She rolled onto her stomach and hugged the pillow under her head, sighing in relief as she closed her tired eyes.  She let her mind go blank and relaxed her body.  Sweet silence enveloped the room and covered her in a blanket of peace.

~scratch scratch scratch~

Her eyes flew open at the slight disruption to her tranquility.  ~scratch scratch scratch~  Mew...  “Ugh...” she groaned and shoved her face into the pillow.  Mew...  “Damn cat...” she got up, grudgingly, and cracked the door open to let the little fluff monster into the room.  She kept it slightly open so he could get in and out of the room on his own, then fell back onto the bed.  The tired girl tried to get comfortable again, laying in the same position as before and squeezing her eyes shut.  Her ears picked up the sound of four tiny feet jumping up onto the bed and pattering over to her.  She had to stifle a giggle as the kitten climbed onto her ticklish lower back before he got comfortable and laid down, his head resting on her , and fell asleep.  His human mommy soon joined him in the land of slumber and serenity.

~BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP~

Taecyeon jumped at the sound of the obnoxious alarm and fumbled to grab his phone, which kept slipping out of his hands.  He finally caught it and gripped it tightly before shutting off the beeping annoyance.  He looked to the other side of the bed, wondering why Jun K wasn’t awakened by the device, only to discover that he wasn’t even there.  He probably got up already.  He ran a hand through his messy hair and yawned deeply.  Man, that was the best sleep ever.  I don’t wanna get up.  He looked at his phone, unlocking it and going to his calendar.  Today’s date was highlighted in green, like some other days, but unlike most of the yellow days.  Ah.. concert today in New York...

He locked his phone and rolled onto his side, reaching over the side of the bed to grasp the handle of his suitcase.  With a grunt, he pulled it onto his lap and opened it up.  Taecyeon rummaged around for his lucky briefs and some comfy jeans.  He sighed as he got up from the bed, the clothes in his hand, and stretched his back after lying down in one position for most of the night.  As he was stretching, the door to the room opened and Jun K walked in.

“Good.  You’re up.  I was about to smother you with a pillow to get you up,” the older man stated in a serious manner.

“I do know how to set alarms and wake up to them,” Taecyeon replied with a snarky tone.  “I’m gonna go get in the shower before the other guys can claim it.”  He walked to the door and made his way through the dining room, to the stairs.  No movement could be heard on the second floor of the house.  She’s probably up doing homework.  As he reached the top of the steps, he peeked around the little corner, at the door to her room.  He looked down