~A few hours later~

Kris and Tao had arrived home an hour ago. We were all in the living room when a knock was heard. Tao answered the door to have Yixing walk right in.

“Gege,” I greeted him.

“Xiao Long,” he returned my hug.

I introduced him to Jihae and Sehun. I noticed Jihae's shy smile. To most it would seem as if she liked Yixing...but I knew that it really meant she was going all super wallflower. My best friend had several good qualities. She was a natural beauty and wicked smart, but her bad quality was that she was super shy. She couldn't handle a situation with more than two people she didn't know. That's actually how we became friends.

We were at a party, she had been dragged there by her older sisiter and I had been asked by one of the guys there. She had been standing under a tree in the backyard, looking a bit uncomfortable. I walked over and started up a conversation about how crowded and lame the party was. It eneded with us bonding over our favorite idols and the rest is history.

I give it a few more times of talkng to my family and it'll be like we've all been friends for years. Sehun, on the other hand, was already there. He was joking around and asking questions in an attempt to get to know them better. It was like he'd been apart of my life since they had. I smiled to myself.

“Sehun-ah, we have to go,” Jihae told him looking at her watch.

“Right! I really don't want your dad yelling at me...again,” he replied as he stood up.

I got up to see them out. Jihae and Sehun said their goodbyes and bowed to the rest of the group. I walked with them to Sehun's car. Jihae hugged me bye. As Sehun stooped down a bit to give me a tender 'see ya later' kiss, a car puled up behind his. The person in the vehicle waited till Sehun had driven away before getting out.

“Why didn't you get out and say hi?” I asked.

“They seemed as if they were in a hurry,” Luhan replied.

“Mmm...”

I followed him upstairs. We entered the living room and I plopped down between Tao and Lay. Luhan sat in the only chair in the room. It was nice to be able to talk and joke around in my native language. After another hour or so Lay got up.

“Well it's late and I have to get up early for work. Night guys,” Lay explained as he headed toward the door.

We all bid him goodbye and headed to our seperate rooms. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out. The dream I had was a bit weird.

I was going about everyday life. School, hanging out, sleeping, just normal things. Yet in every scene there was a tiny white fox, hidden in a corner here, behind a bush there, perched in my doorway at night. The last scene had the fox in my bed nuzzling my neck.

I awoke with a start and froze. There was a warmth placed at my back and hip. Something cold slid across the back of my neck. I screamed. I couldn't help it. There was someone...or something...in my bed and I wasn't fully aware of anything at the moment.

When I screamed, the heat left me and I could see a shadow jump and fall off the bed. Soon the door opened and a light flicked on. The scene had the two in the doorway sputtering.

There I was, in an oversized t-shirt and shorts, kneeling on the edge of the bed with the blanket pulled up to my chin. I leaned over to check the floor. Luhan was curled up, holding his head. Kris scanned the situation as Tao came to see about me.

“Are you okay?” Tao asked me.

I nodded, too shocked to speak. What was Luhan doing in my bed, with me in it, this late at night.

Apparently Kris was thinking the same thing as he asked Luhan, “What were you doing in here with Mei?”

Luhan just blinked. He looked from Kris, who was still in the doorway, to me and Tao on the bed. His head was cocked to the side, a look of slight confusion on his face. He shook his head and stood.

“I don't know. The last thing I remember is going to sleep,” he replied.

“Why did you scream Mei?” Tao asked.

I looked at Luhan. I felt like he was lying, but not completely. Something wasn't quite right about my childhood friend.

“He was...cuddled up to my back, rubbing his nose on my neck. It was like Qiang did when he wanted my attention,” I told them, the feeling of unease growing.

“Qiang was a dog. Luhan is a human being,” Kris replied, arms crossed over his chest, “I don't know what's going on with you, Luhan, but I would feel better if you would only be in Mei's presence when someone else is here. I don't feel comfortable with you being alone with her.”

Luhan opened his mouth, but closed it again. He nodded, a scowl appearing on his face. He bowed to Kris and then me.

“I'm sorry,” he replied before leaving the room.

My alarm went off just then and I scrambled about my bed trying to find my phone. I found it under the bed and turned it off. I got up and went to my dresser.

“When you finish taking your medication, go back to sleep,” Kris told me, “Oh, and keep your door locked from now on, okay?”

I nodded as I swallowed the pill in my hand, “Got it Gege.”

Kris walked out and Tao stood up. He was at the door before he stopped and walked back to me.

“Goodnight Meixing,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

“Night Didi,” I replied smiled.

Even though Tao was two years younger than me, he acted like a big brother. It had been this way for five years. He was 13 when we had first met, but he had scare off two 16 year old guys who had been harrassing me. It was the most amazing thing I had seen, watching his wushu moves. He never actually had to use them on the guys though. They had seen him do a sweep kick and hightailed it out of there.

We became fast friends after that, the first I had after moving back to China. And if it wasn't for me, he and Kris wouldn't be together. I caught on very quick that my friend wasn't quite straight and that he had a thing for my brother.

I remember the first time Tao had seen Kris shirtless. Kris had just come in from some game or sport...or something. He was sweaty and gross, but Tao almost passed out form “overwhelming urges”, as he eloquently put it. From that day onward I pushed Tao to get closer to Kris, even if Kris didn't appear to like guys. I knew my brother enough to see the slight glances he would give the younger boy.

After I developed the fantasy of them being an item, I would leave them alone...quite often. They soon became friends and Tao's crush bloomed into love. He still wasn't sure of Kris's 'straightness' and it took a years worth of prodding to convice Kris to spill his real feelings to Tao. Once he did they were inseperable. After Tao graduated last year, they moved here to be together. Lucky me that they did.

I fell asleep thinking of the past. Of Tao and Lay, of being a child, and of Luhan...then and now.