~*~

  “I still have to go to the bathroom.”

  This comment from Donghae earned numerous shushes from everyone else in the room. Donghae failed to see what was so wrong with what he said, and he was just about to ask what, until he looked up and saw a gun being pointed at his face.

  “Please don’t shoot me,” he said in a small voice. “I have fish babies growing inside me and my boyfriend isn’t competent enough to raise them alone.”

  Siwon clamped his hand over the shorter boy’s mouth. He looked at the gunman for a split second and muttered, “Sorry about him.”

  “It’s funny. For four years, you people have pushed me around and called me names. But now nobody has the nerve to do or say anything, just because I have this.” The skinny student smirked as he waved around the gun in his hand.

  He had already fired a warning shot earlier, just to prove to everyone that he wasn’t kidding around. Now he was holding the whole football team hostage in their own turf, including Coach Gura who gave him the detention that pushed him off the edge, and a very confused Donghae.

  “Well, guns are pretty scary, you know…” Donghae got shushed once again, and Siwon gave him a look that just screamed ‘shut up’.

  The perpetrator turned to him. “What are you even doing here? Weren’t you kicked out of the football team?”

  “Well, yes. But I was on my way to the bathroom, and you fired your gun, and Siwon came and pulled me inside.” He explained in a childlike manner—it must be his defense mechanism or something. “That’s why I’m stuck here now.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize he would actually come here and hold everyone hostage.” Siwon turned to the kid with the gun once again, “Again, I’m really sorry about him.”

  “If I could just use the bathroom in this locker room—”

  Clearly, he was not enjoying conversing with his hostages, as he fired a shot that went right through the plaster of the ceiling.

  “Okay, I’ll be quiet.” Donghae cowered and buried his face in Siwon’s chest. Without even thinking, Siwon put a comforting arm around him and told him that everything was going to be okay, even though he was just as scared as he was.

  “Siwon, what are you doing?” one of the players piped up.

  “What?” Siwon wasn’t in the mood for any of his teammates’ narrow-mindedness today. “He’s scared.”

  “He’s going to convert you.”

  “Into what?”

  “Into being gay, like him and his friends.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Siwon has never wanted to punch someone in the face so much. “He’s scared—we all are—and all you can think about is that he’s gay?”

  “Will everyone just shut up?!” The gunman snapped, and the whole room came to a complete silence. Well, almost complete.

  Donghae looked up from Siwon’s chest with wide, innocent eyes, “I can convert people?”

  A chorus of exasperated groans followed (including one from the hostage-taker himself).

~*~

  “Did you hear that?” Heechul asked, his voice just above a whisper. “That was another shot.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Sungmin sighed as he and Heechul squeezed together under the latter’s desk. “How do we even know for sure that those were real gunshots? What if someone’s just watching a cowboy movie in the auditorium or something?”

  “I know what I heard, Sungmin.” Heechul stated, feeling his legs start to get cramps from the awkward position they were in. “I just don’t understand. What kind of bastard would bring a gun to school?”

  “Stranger things have happened.” Sungmin shrugged.

  “How can you be so chill about this?” he asked, genuinely surprised that his best friend wasn’t breaking into hysterics right now. “Aren’t you scared? Aren’t you worried about what’s gonna happen to us? What’s gonna happen to everyone else? To Eunhyuk, to Donghae…to Kyuhyun?”

  “I just don’t see the point of panicking over nothing.” He answered simply. “I’m sure everyone’s fine. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised to see you worry about them. I didn’t think you cared so much.”

  “Oh, I get it,” Heechul studied Sungmin’s eyes and came to a conclusion. “You’re just as scared as I am. This is just your defense mechanism. You’re only pretending to be calm and cool on the outside, but on the inside I bet you’re being ripped apart, aren’t you?”

  Sungmin glared, “Keep talking and I’ll rip you apart. Both on the inside and the outside.”

  Heechul, amused, clucked his tongue. “You’re so predictable. If we ever get out of this alive—”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t say ‘if’. We are going to get out of this alive.” He corrected.

  “How can you be so sure?” he questioned.

  “Because Kyuhyun and I have a date after school and we’ve never, ever cancelled a date before.” He revealed, to which Heechul could only blink.

  “Wh—that’s it? That’s what keeps you going? The fact that you Kyuhyun have a date later?” he asked.

  “What?” he shrugged. “It’s enough. Thinking of Kyuhyun is what keeps me strong.”

  “Wow.” He remarked.

  Sungmin looked at him curiously. “Wow what?”

  “Wow as in, wow, you really are crazy about him, aren’t you?” Heechul let out a breathy chuckle. “What did you ever do to deserve a love like that?”

  “I don’t know,” he leaned his head on the wooden leg of the desk. “I’m just lucky, I guess.”

  “I’ll tell you something that’ll make you feel better.” Heechul nudged him. “We’re probably doing the best at holding up right now. I bet everyone else has already their pants.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he sighed. “Kyuhyun’s pretty brave…”

~*~

  “Kyuhyun, are you crying?” Eunhyuk asked with wide eyes. He’s never seen Kyuhyun cry before. He didn’t even know he was capable of producing tears.

  Kyuhyun looked at him like he was stupid. And he probably was considering his question. “No, I’m impersonating a fountain.”

  “Look, Kyu, I know this is scary, but—”

  “I’m not scared for us, Eunhyuk.” He cut him off, sniffing. “Look at us. We’re fine. But Sungmin is out there, and I’m not even sure where he is exactly. What if…what if those shots were—”

  “Don’t be silly, Kyuhyun. Sungmin’s fine, Sungmin can take care of himself.” He insisted. “What about Donghae? Oh God, he must be scared less right now, my poor baby…”

  “How can you be so sure that Sungmin’s fine?” he interrupted again, this time snapping. “What if he’s not? What if something happened to him and I’m not there to protect him? God, I’m not even worried about what’s going to happen to me, or what’s going to happen to you—”

  “Thanks.” Eunhyuk deadpanned.

  “All I can think about is Sungmin.” Kyuhyun didn’t want to sob into Eunhyuk’s shoulder, but at the moment, it was the closest thing he could hide his face in. “I don’t care how pathetic I look right now; I just want legitimate evidence that Sungmin is okay.”

  With Kyuhyun blubbering in his arms, Eunhyuk had an epiphany. “Oh…my…God.”

  “What?” Kyuhyun asked, wiping his nose with his school necktie.

  “I just realized,” he frowned. “I am now the manliest person in our group.”

  “Shut up,” he swatted his shoulder (so hard that Eunhyuk cried in pain). “You’re the one who carries a purse around.”

  “For the last time, it’s a man-bag!” Eunhyuk protested loudly, earning a brief reprimanding from their teacher, who has repeatedly told them to stay as quiet as possible.

~*~

  Donghae didn’t know how to feel being surrounded by his former teammates, who were all either panicking really badly and/or sobbing like children. Frankly he was surprised he was staying so calm given the situation; maybe having a full bladder made him a little braver.

  “Seriously?” Donghae’s brows knitted together. “And you’re the people who call me and my friends a bunch of ?”

  The gunman ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He’s been checking the window every five minutes for the past hour. The police had the whole place surrounded, and it’s only a matter of time before they take action. Unfortunately, he hadn’t thought that far through.

  But he could see that Coach Gura looked like he was about to wet his pants, so clearly the first half of his plan was done. So what does he do now?

  “Um, Mr. Gunman?” Donghae called in a feeble voice. “How much longer do you plan to keep us here? Everybody’s getting a little anxious…”

  “Shut up.” He snaps, obviously feeling a little anxious himself. “Another peep out of you and I’m killing you first.”

  “Please, just get it over with.” Came an obnoxious drawl from one of the jocks.

  “Hey!” Siwon was being strangely very protective of Donghae right now.

  “Donghae,” Donghae jumped in surprise when Taecyeon appeared next to him. He instinctively clung to Siwon for protection, but the look on Taecyeon’s face told Donghae that he needn’t be so scared. “Can we talk?”

  “Um…no?” he said. He had nothing to say to him really, except for the new obscenities that Kyuhyun’s been teaching him recently.

  “Fine, then just listen.” Taecyeon sighed, looking as if this were the hardest thing he ever had to do. “This might be the last moments of my life and I don’t want to go with a guilty conscience. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I pranked you with those texts. It was meant as a bet and a harmless joke…I didn’t mean to…”

  Donghae knew Taecyeon wasn’t all bad. In fact, before he came out and got kicked out of the team, the two of them were actually quite close. It wasn’t until Taecyeon found out he was gay that he suddenly developed a strong disliking for him. “It’s okay. I got over that a long time ago. I should probably apologize for my boyfriend punching you in the face but…you know, I don’t want to. You deserved that.”

  “If we die today I hope he kills me first because, you know, this is really awkward for me.” He admitted.

  Donghae smiled and patted his knee. “I hope you die first too.”

  He blinked, “Thank you?”

  Donghae was grinning brightly until he felt something cold and heavy pointed at his forehead. He looked up and saw the troubled student with a very sinister look on his face.

  “I told you to shut up.”

~*~

  Sungmin jerked awake at that horrendous, yet unfortunately familiar sound. “What was that? Was that another—?”

  “Yeah.” Heechul was becoming more and more restless. “I cannot believe you fell asleep at a time like this.”

  “What, it was getting boring.” He replied defensively. “I don’t have my phone, I don’t have my nail file, I don’t have my Kyuhyun—I might as well just catch up on my beauty sleep.”

  “Sungmin, I refuse to believe that you of all people is actually taking this situation well.” Heechul would rather see Sungmin go to pieces than bottle up all his emotions like this. “You’re freaking out inside, aren’t you? Admit it. You’re scared.”

  Sungmin rolled his eyes. “Yes, Heechul, yes I’m scared.” He finally admitted, exhaling sharply. “But I’d rather not panic, Heechul. I’d rather not think about how I could’ve been with Kyuhyun right now, if I hadn’t stopped by to talk to you. And I’d rather not think about the fact that I don’t know where my boyfriend is, or what he’s doing, or if he’s even okay. And I’d rather not think about how my best friends are out there, probably scared to death, just like me.”

  And just like that, Sungmin’s cool and calm exposure went crashing down.

  “I knew you were going to break.” Heechul’s tone was smug, but he put his arm around Sungmin’s shoulders anyway. “You are so weak.”

  “Oh, shut up.” Sungmin shot back, his voice muffled as his face was in Heechul’s chest. “How much longer do we have to wait around like this? This is killing me.”

  Heechul sighed. “I wish I knew.”

~*~

  Donghae will forever be grateful that he had (surprisingly) quick reflexes, or else the bullet hole in the wall would be in his head right now. Even more frustrated than ever, the gunman has began a rant about how everyone in the school were jerkasses and that he should just shoot everyone one-by-one (though Lord knows he could only do so much with just one gun and who knows how many bullets left).

  “Why would you do that?” Once Donghae started talking, he couldn’t stop. “There are people out there who just want to know that their loved ones are safe. We’re just kids—we have our lives ahead of us. Are you seriously going to take that away from us? We’re like a month from graduating. We have futures. We have dreams. We didn’t do anything to deserve this…well, maybe Coach Gura did.”

  “Donghae—” Siwon tried to get him to sit back down and shut the up. They were in enough hot water already.

  Surprisingly, the gunman didn’t look very angry. He looked kind of sad actually. “Nobody cares about me.”

  “That’s not true. You see, my boyfriend has met you, and ever since he has, he always tells me that he wishes he could help you. Because you seemed so…so…” He scratched his head, confused. “I forget the word he used. It was a big word.”

  “Donghae.” Siwon tried to chime in again.

  Donghae cleared his throat, not even realizing how sweaty his palms had become. “Right. Um. All I’m saying is, this can still end well. Somebody cares about you…I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

  “Donghae!” This time it was another football player who called, afraid that Donghae was going to end up getting them all killed.

  “Um, never mind. Like I was saying, there are people out there who do care. I mean, I care about you. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t get into the university you wanted or not, because there are still other great schools out there. I can help you check them out.”

  “You’re just saying that because I’m holding a gun at your face.”

  “Well, yes. But, I really do care about you. My boyfriend always tells me that you seem so troubled and he always seems so concerned that it actually made me want to know more about you. Well, not now, since you’re holding me hostage and all…”

  “Dong…hae…” Siwon said again, exasperated.

  Donghae took one last shot. “If you let us go, I’ll be your friend.”

  “Friend?” he croaked.

  “Yes.” He nodded, holding up one hand to swear to the heavens. “I promise.”

  “No one’s ever wanted to be my friend before.” He actually looked like he was starting to let his guard down.

  “I want to. If you just…you know…put the gun down, it would probably make things easier. Just saying.” Donghae couldn’t help but scrunch his face together in fear that the guy would change his mind. “It isn’t too late, you know. If you turn yourself in now, you probably won’t get that big of a sentence since you haven’t killed anyone yet and all. You haven’t killed anyone yet, have you?”

  “Aw hell,” he sighed in defeat as he let the gun drop from his hand.

  Donghae immediately picks it up from the floor to make sure no one would get hurt, but in the process he ended up accidentally firing a shot that barely missed Siwon’s face.

  “Donghae!” Siwon yelled, horrified. “Put the gun down! Put it down!”

  Donghae himself realized he wasn’t exactly the best person to be holding a gun so he put it back on the floor and kicked it all the way across the room. He then turned to the student Eunhyuk once described as ‘puny and pasty’ and smiled at him as he left to surrender to the police.

  “I’ll visit you in jail every day!” He called brightly, along with a huge grin. “Uh…what was his name again?”

  “That’s it? It’s over?” The coach had never felt so relieved in his life. He went up to Donghae and put a sweaty arm around his shoulders. “Well, I’ll be damned. You saved us, Donghae. What can we do to repay you?”

  “There is one thing you can do for me.” Donghae said, holding up one finger for emphasis.

  “Name it. Anything.” He vowed.

  Donghae suddenly started to hop around while holding his crotch. “You can let me pee. My bladder’s about to explode.”

  He looked confused for a moment before letting him through. “Uh, sure, go ahead.”

  “Thank you!” He made a dash towards the bathroom while everybody else was left wondering how in the hell it was possible that Lee Donghae just saved their asses.

~*~

  “That was another gunshot. I have to get out there!”

  Eunhyuk watched, almost in boredom, as a group of students in their class physically restrained Kyuhyun from breaking down the door and putting all their lives in danger. Eunhyuk would help, but at this point, he realized it was just no use.

  “Kyuhyun, if Sungmin were here, he’d tell you the same thing I’m telling you right now: calm your .” Eunhyuk said once Kyuhyun got tired from fighting back and was on the floor to regain his energy.

  “That’s just it, Eunhyuk.” Kyuhyun panted. “Sungmin’s not here. He’s out there somewhere without me.”

  “Kyuhyun, I’m worried too, but you don’t see me freaking out.” He pointed out with a small shrug. “Frankly, I’m surprised that you’re not holding your ground right now. You’re usually so…stoic.”

  Kyuhyun put his arm against the door and leaned his forehead on it. He looked like he was in so much despair that Eunhyuk was starting to feel sorry for him. “My Sungmin is out there, Eunhyuk. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to him.”

  “Kyuhyun, you act like Sungmin doesn’t know what he’s doing. For all we know, he could be kicking that lunatic’s as we speak.” He said. “I mean, he tried to kill me when I stole his lipstick. What more if some gun-crazy maniac tries to lay a hand on him?”

  Kyuhyun eyed him warily. “Why did you steal his lipstick?”

  Eunhyuk’s eyes shot wide open. Once he realized there was no way out, he put his head down, blushing. “I was, um, trying something…”

  He looked compelled to ask for more details at first, but then he shook his head and returned to his state of panic. “Whatever. In case you’ve forgotten, Eunhyuk, that was a total of four gunshots we just heard. At least one of them may have been directed at someone. What if they were…they were…”

  “No, I have not forgotten, Kyuhyun. You have to stop thinking of the worst case scenario here.” He told him, though Kyuhyun remained stubborn and kept shaking his head. “It’s entirely possible that everyone is still safe. Maybe nobody’s hurt.”

  Kyuhyun was still skeptic. “Whoever is behind this can’t possibly be that stupid as to waste all those bullets on nothing.”

  “Maybe he is. Maybe he’s just a kid, like one of us. He doesn’t know what he’s doing; he’s angry, he’s frustrated—the only difference between us and him is that he has a gun. Which, by the way, I’m still trying to figure out. Last I recalled, gun ownership is still illegal around here.”

  Eunhyuk looked to Kyuhyun, expecting an offer of any sort of rationalization (it was Kyuhyun after all), but Kyuhyun looked like he was a million miles away. “Did you even hear a word I said?”

  “No, and I’m not even sorry.” He stood up and leaned his back against the door. “I can’t believe you’re being this way, Eunhyuk. How can you be so relaxed at a time like this? How can you be so calm when someone has opened fire at our school and our boyfriends are not by our sides?”

  “Because honestly,” he started, knowing Kyuhyun was going to ridicule him for what he was about to say, but still hoping it could be of any comfort to him. “I believe Donghae’s okay. I know he’s going to keep himself out of harm's way because he has our fish babies in his tummy and he’s not going to let anything happen to them.”

  Kyuhyun put his hand on the doorknob and Eunhyuk, fearing for their lives, swatted his hand away. “I’m sorry that I can’t be like you, Hyuk. I can’t put my hope on an unreliable notion that Sungmin might or might not be okay because of something completely baseless. I want proof, Eunhyuk. I want to see Sungmin safe and sound, and I want him in my arms right now. I want my bunny.”

  “Do you realize how creepy that sounds?” Eunhyuk asked.

  Kyuhyun decided enough was enough. “Screw you, I’m going out there.”

  Kyuhyun’s concern for his boyfriend proved to be much stronger than the strength of a dozen classmates holding him back. He opened the door and much to his surprise, he saw a horde of students running frantically in the hall.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, and fortunately one of the students was nice enough to stop and explain.

  “It’s over; the guy with the gun just gave himself up.” He revealed before resuming his running, presumably towards the nearest exit.

  “Did you hear that? It’s all o—” Kyuhyun turned to Eunhyuk, but he stopped mid-sentence when he realized the latter was gone from his side.

  He looked around and caught Eunhyuk running in the opposite direction of everyone else.

  “Where are you going?” he yelled after him.

  “To get my baby and our fish babies!” he answered as he made a quick turn at the end of the hall.

  Kyuhyun shook his head, mentally calling Eunhyuk a hypocrite for chewing him out about panicking when he himself was obviously just as worried about Donghae. Nevertheless, he ran after him; he was heading in the same direction anyway.

~*~

  “I found a pack of Oreos in my purse, but the expiration date was a few months ago. Are we game?” Heechul asked, ripping open the pack of cookies.

  “You can have it. I don’t feel like eating.” Sungmin sighed.

  “Don’t give me that bull. These cookies are gonna go down your throat whether you like it or not.” He said, holding an Oreo near the teenager’s lips. “You don’t think I notice how you have to go to the bathroom after every meal? I know what you do in there, Sungmin, and as your former therapist, I do not approve.”

  “Oh, shut up, we’re probably both going to die in here anyway.” He became a bit flustered upon finding out that Heechul knew what he’s been doing lately. “Maybe not of gunshots, but of boredom maybe.”

  “How can you go from being so calm to being so cynical in such a short time?” he asked, pulling down Sungmin’s chin and putting the cookie on his tongue.

  “It’s easy after being stuck under a desk for two hours with you.” He sullenly chewed the Oreo in his mouth. “Whoever’s behind this , I hate him. I ing hate him. He’s scaring the piss out of everybody and he’s taking away my time with Kyuhyun. I need to spend as much time with him as possible. In less than a month, he’s going to be on a plane and I won’t see him again in seven years. We didn’t even get to celebrate his birthday together since his parents surprised him with an out-of-town trip. God, they’d do anything to keep us away from each other.”

  Heechul tried to hide the guilt in his face, but Sungmin noticed it anyway.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, growing slightly uncomfortable as he’s never quite seen this look on Heechul’s face before. “Seriously, Heechul, stop it. It’s creeping me out.”

  “I have to tell you something.” Heechul was hoping this moment would come a little bit later.

  “Oh my God.”

  “What?”

  “Are you about to tell me you’re in love with me?”

  “What? No!” Heechul had never heard anything more ridiculous in his whole life. “Why the hell would you think that I was?”

  “Well, I don’t know, you’re around me all the time, you never seem to want to do stuff without me—frankly, I’m starting to feel a little suffocated.” Sungmin shrugged, as if he were giving out the most obvious information on the planet. “Besides, who wouldn’t fall in love with me?”

  “People who aren’t Kyuhyun, otherwise known as sane people.” Despite being slightly peeved, Heechul admittedly felt a little relieved to have broken the ice. “What I wanted to say was that…there’s a high possibility that you may not see a lot of me anymore after graduation.”

  Sungmin still didn’t catch on. “You’re…dying?”

  It took Heechul everything and a little more not to strangle Sungmin to death right then and there. “No, and by the way, I hate you, you , because I’m trying to have a serious moment with you here and you keep wrecking it.

  “Well, I don’t get it, what are you saying?” he asked.

  Heechul sighed and just decided to be upfront. “I’m leaving, Sungmin.”

  “…What?” Sungmin wished he had heard wrong.

  “I’m leaving. I’m resigning once the school year’s over and I’m leaving to go find myself, I suppose.” He knew it was going to be hard to break it to Sungmin, especially since he’s been so upset with all the changes happening, but he didn’t think it’d be this hard. He couldn’t even look at Sungmin without feeling bad.

  “B-but you don’t need to go find yourself, you’re right here.” He croaked. “Who the hell still does that anyway? Finding themselves? If you’re going to do that, you should’ve done it in college, for God’s sakes! Not now, not when you’re old—”

  “Sungmin, I am barely even twenty-five.” Heechul really did not appreciate being called old.

  “Whatever. You can’t leave; you’d miss me too much. Face it, you can’t live without me.” He started to stammer. Heechul knew Sungmin wasn’t trying to convince him, but rather himself. “Besides, you’re a flake. You’re all talk and no do. You’re never gonna go through with this.”

  “Sungmin, I already notified the principal about my upcoming resignation—”

  Suddenly, he sobbed, “Oh my God, everybody’s leaving me!”

  “Oh, honey, that’s not true. You still have Eunhyuk and Donghae—”

  “Oh, who are you kidding?” Something told Heechul that he just opened up the flood gates. “They’re probably gonna get hitched and move away and find new friends and I’m going to die alone.”

  “Don’t think like that, Sungmin.” Heechul’s motherly instincts were coming out. “You’re not gonna die alone. Maybe surrounded by fifty cats or something, but no, not alone. Besides, Kyuhyun would never leave you—”

  “What are you, stupid? He’s already leaving me and he’s doing it next month.” He found it hard to speak with a runny nose. “And I just know he’s going to forget me while he’s gone. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not that great of a catch.”

  “What? Okay, who are you and what did you to Sungmin?” he asked. “The real Sungmin would never say something like that. Nobody loves him more than he loves himself.”

  “I’ve got news for you, Heechul,” he dabbed his water-filled eyes with his sleeves. “This is the real Sungmin.”

  “Sungmin, you’re scaring me.” Heechul said. “Get a hold of yourself; don’t make me slap you across the face again.”

  He looked confused, “Again?”

  “Oh, so you don’t remember that ti—never mind.” He waved his hand, dismissive. “Listen to me, . I know you and this isn’t you at all. You’re proud, you’re confident, you’re mean because you can be, you’re a big pain in the and you’re probably one of the most irritating human beings—hold that thought, I’m not even sure you are human—”

  “Is this supposed to be some sort of pep talk?” he asked, wounded.

  “My point is, despite all of those things, I stick around anyway. And Eunhyuk does too, and Donghae, and Kyuhyun especially.” He continued. “You may be a but you’re a lovable one.”

  “That’s sweet but honestly, that doesn’t really make me feel much better. Thanks anyway.” Once his eyes were relatively dry (yet incredibly puffy), he leaned his head back against the wood for what felt like the thousandth time today and sighed. “I can’t believe I’m spending the last few minutes of my life with you. I mean, I love you and all, but—”

  “Wait, wait, wait. ‘Last few minutes’? Shut your ing mouth, Sungmin. Do you seriously think that I’m going to let anything happen to you?”

  “…Yes?”

  “That hurts me, Sungmin. That physically hurts m—did you just say you love me?”

  Sungmin didn’t even realize he had said that. Flustered and face flushed, he looked down. ““Yeah well, you know, despite everything I’ve always kinda sorta loved you.”

  “Oh well,” Heechul decided it was only polite to return the favor. “I’ve always kinda sorta loved you too.”

  “I think this calls for a hug.” Sungmin smiled and stretched his arms to wrap them around Heechul, but what seemed like the start of a long-awaited embrace was interrupted by a couple of loud raps on the door.

  Sungmin clung on to Heechul for dear life, much like a scared little child. Heechul put a finger to his lips, signalling for him to keep quiet. At this point, Sungmin was too scared to even breathe, and Heechul was becoming as pale as a ghost.

  “Heechul?” It was amazing how such a simple thing as the familiarity of one’s voice can bring so much relief to someone. “If you’re in there, you can come out now. The coast is clear.”

  “That’s Siwon.” Heechul climbed out from under his desk. “I think…I think it’s over.”

  “The coast is clear? Who the hell still says that these days?” Another voice came from outside the door.

  “That’s Donghae.” Sungmin’s legs felt a little wobbly from being folded for two hours while cramped under a desk. “I’ve never felt so glad to hear Donghae’s voice.”

  Heechul was still reluctant to open the door. He pressed his ear against the surface and called to make sure, “Siwon? Is that you?”

  “Yes, Heechul, it’s me.” Siwon sounded pretty relieved himself. “You can come out now. It’s safe.”

  Heechul decided that was enough reassurance so he unlocked the door and opened it. He came face-to-face with Siwon for the first time since they shared that dance at prom and the only thing he could say was, “Hi.”

  “Hi.” Siwon’s face broke out in a smile. Heechul swore that Siwon was about to lean in and kiss him, and for a moment he was actually going to let him, until a voice in the hallway startled the both of them out of their thoughts.

  “Donghae!” It was Eunhyuk. It was no surprise—he’s always been a huge , but this time, Heechul couldn’t blame him. “Donghae, oh thank God you’re okay. I am never letting you out of my sight again. Never, ever, ever.”

  Eunhyuk planted kisses on every patch of skin on Donghae’s body and for once, no one was calling them out on how disgusting they were being.

  “I’m glad to see you too, Hyukkie.” Donghae chuckled. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said. “Are you?”

  “Yeah. Though I may have to get my kidneys checked soon. I held my pee in for two whole hours!” He revealed. “That must be some kind of record.”

  “You mean you never made it to the bathroom?” Eunhyuk cupped his lover’s face, alarmed. “Where were you?”

  “I was in the locker room. I was with Siwon and the football team and the coach and the guy who you always talked to me about—”

  “What? What was he doing there?” he asked.

  “Oh, he was holding us hostage.” Donghae answered a little too casually.

  “What?” Heechul asked. “You mean to say you were in the same room as the gunman?”

  Donghae nodded. “Uh-huh. He was actually kind of nice.”

  “Oh no. Donghae, please don’t tell me he brainwashed you.” Eunhyuk said.

  “Actually, I think Donghae’s the one who brainwashed him.” Siwon patted Donghae on the back, earning intrigued looks from everyone else. “There were about a dozen of us in that room and Donghae was the only one brave enough to talk some sense into the gunman. He got him to put the gun down and surrender to the police. He saved our lives.”

  “You did?” Eunhyuk looked just as stunned as everyone else.

  “Really? Donghae?” Heechul questioned.

  “Funny,” Sungmin snorted, “I always thought he’d be the one that’d end up getting us killed.”

  “Hey, that’s mean.” Donghae pouted. “Hyukkie, tell Sungmin he’s being mean.”

  “Sungmin, you’re being mea—”

  “Honestly, I don’t care.” He interrupted, and beside him Heechul was grinning, happy to have the old Sungmin back. “Where the is Kyuhyun?”

  “I don’t know. He was right behind me just a minute ago.” Just as Eunhyuk was talking, a series of heavy panting and gasping came from around the hall. Sungmin smiled, having heard those sounds before and knowing exactly who they came from (though they were a little more arousing when he first heard them).

  “Kyuhyun,” he caught his boyfriend in his arms just as his knees buckled. “Thank God you’re safe. I was so worried—”

  “I think I’m dying.” He gasped for breath.

  “What? What do you mean?” he asked, panicked. “Are you hurt? Were you shot?”

  “No, but I’m exhausted from all that running.” Kyuhyun continued to struggle for breath, leaning his whole body on Sungmin for support. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Sungmin assured him. “I’m a little shaken though.”

  “I think we all are.” Siwon said. “No one got hurt, thank God.”

  “What about all those gunshots we heard?” Heechul inquired.

  “They all went right through the plaster.” He revealed. “Though I think Donghae took a real close call.”

   “You did?” Eunhyuk gasped, dotingly the soft strands on Donghae’s head. “My poor baby. That must have been so traumatizing. How are your babies doing?”

  “Aww, you remembered about our babies.” Donghae cooed, grinning as he rubbed his stomach. “Say, I was thinking we could name one of them Bada.”

  “You mean like your dog Bada?” Eunhyuk was reluctant to agree.

  “Shots were fired at our school and you two are discussing your future fish babies’ names?” Kyuhyun shook their head at him before turning back to Sungmin. “Bunny, I was freaking out. I thought—I was so—you—”

  “Me too.” Sungmin kissed him, knowing exactly what he meant to say.

  “Have you been crying?” Kyuhyun asked him, noticing the redness in his eyes.

  He nodded, “Heechul made me cry.”

  Heechul ignored the glare Kyuhyun sent him and dismissed, “It’s a long story.”

  Sungmin noticed Kyuhyun’s eyes as well, “Looks like you’ve been doing some crying too.”

  He didn’t deny it, “I was worried.”

  “Me too.” Sungmin gave him another kiss.

  Heechul rolled his eyes at the reunion of two of the most sickening couples right in front of him. “Oh look, I have no one.”

  Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around him from behind. Heechul froze, “Siwon, I didn’t mean—”

  Siwon shushed him, and Heechul took the hint and zipped his lips to just enjoy the moment.

  The thankfully-averted crisis may have been one of the toughest and not to mention longest mornings of their lives, but they came out of the school with a new zest of life. Donghae became a hero, Eunhyuk has finally come around to accepting hheir fish babies, Kyuhyun and Sungmin got a taste of what it’s like to be really apart, Siwon and Heechul saw a little bit of themselves in each other, everyone learned that every second in life really does matter, and all of them found a little piece of themselves that wasn’t there before.

~*~