Amber sat in the restaurant chatting happily with the members of SHINee and EXO as everybody enjoyed their dinner.

 

“So, Amber, when do you debut on Music Bank?” Donghae asked from down the table.

 

“August 5^th,” she replied happily, chewing on her rice.

 

“Oh! That’s when we make our comeback, too!” Kai said happily, his cheeks full of food. Amber couldn’t help but laugh at his childish antics, and nodded in agreement.

 

“I know, that’s what Luhan told me while we were working on my album,” she said with joy. Kai’s face darkened, and the present EXO members shared a glance between themselves. Suho quickly changed the subject, sending a warning look towards Kai.

 

“So, do you think you’re ready, Amber? You’ve been in the dance studio practically all day every day practicing with Taeyong,” he said quickly.

 

She nodded. “It’s a bit of a different dance style than I’m used to, which is why I’ve been working so hard at it. Are you close with Taeyong, Suho?”

 

He nodded. “I was a trainee for practically forever before I debuted with my team, so I’m pretty close to a lot of the trainees. Taeyong’s really talented,” he said.

 

Amber nodded in agreement, and kept eating, looking around the table at her friends. Everybody was happily eating and talking, and she couldn’t help but feel a glow of happiness bubble up inside of her.

 

She stiffened when she felt a body sit beside her again, and she looked over to see Luhan had taken a seat next to her. She gave him a bright smile, and he returned it.

 

“Where’d you go? You disappeared as soon as we all sat down for dinner,” she said quietly.

 

He gave her a wink and held a finger to his closed mouth.

 

Before she could question what was going on, Minho and Chanyeol walked in carrying a cake, ad Amber’s eyes widened with shock.

 

“What is going on?” She exclaimed, looking around at the guys around the table who all looked just as confused as she did. Minho set the cake down in front of her, and she read it carefully. Congratulations on your debut!

 

Minho leaned in next to her ear and whispered quietly enough for only her to hear. “It was all Luhan’s idea, he just asked us to bring it in so it wouldn’t look awkward to anyone else.”

 

Amber looked from her cousin to Luhan incredulously, and couldn’t help the tears that sprang to her eyes. Luhan looked worried when he noticed her crying.

 

“Yah, why are you crying? This is supposed to be a happy time!”

 

She laughed and continued crying. “I am happy, happier than I’ve been in a long time. Thank you all so much for being such good friends, all of you.”

 

Minho patted her back as he shook his head, laughing at his younger cousin. “We’re a family, Amber, all of us. It’s what we do. Now come on, let’s get a group picture with your cake!”

 

She watched as all of the guys got up and formed a tight huddle around her, and she couldn’t help but laugh happily. She caught Luhan’s eyes as he sat incredibly still next to her, and she gave him a grateful smile. He smiled back and moved closer to her, pressing his side against hers. She felt him place a warm hand on her knee, and her breath caught. He watched her, gauging her reaction, and when she didn’t pull back or freak out, he relaxed a bit, settling in next to her, and smiling at the camera.

 

She looked back at the camera and smiled brightly, leaning in slightly closer to Luhan as well, letting his warmth envelop her.

 

Once the picture had been taken, Luhan quickly pulled his hand away before anyone would notice it. Amber shivered at the loss of warmth, and turned back to the rest of the table. Luhan did not, however, miss the murderous glance that Kai cast their way. He shook his head slightly, signaling him to let it go, and went back to his dinner, watching Amber laughing and joking with everyone out of the corner of his eye.