Emma woke up to another white ceiling.  She leaned and saw an IV wire in her arm.  The steady beating of the heart meter next to her filled her ears. 

"You're awake!" Chanyeol's voice broke the silence. 

She looked over and saw the boy smiling, his hair slightly frazzled with worry, his eyes filled with relief.  She smiled back.  "Yeah."

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Not bad," she grunted and sat up.  She looked around the room.  "Where are the others?"

"They're at school," he explained.  "Baekhyun said that he had to go to class for your sake.  He said he wants to teach you later if you're up for it."

She shrugged.  "Sure."

He sighed.  "You scared me."

"Sorry," she smirked.

He lightly poked her shoulder.  "You're too cute, Emma.  I can't stand losing you."

She gave him a weird look.  "Sure."

"It's true though," he pouted.

She laughed.  "You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were a fairy."

"A fairy?" he raised an eyebrow questioningly.  "Hm, that's a new one.  Usually people think I'm a giant beanstalk or something."

She laughed harder.  "Yeah, you're ears reminded me of a fairy.  You're smile too..." she faded off shyly.

He smiled.  "You too."

"I remind you of a fairy?"

"Nah, more like a flower.  A pretty one," he said.  "The most beautiful one, that opens up and shows the entire world its beauty."

"I usually remind people of a witch," she whispered.

"That's because you haven't shown your true colors," he explained.  "Think of it like...camouflage.  You cover up your beauty to protect yourself."

She nodded hesitantly.  "I don't think..."

"Don't you understand, Em?  You're beautiful," he said.  "Anyone who thinks the opposite is stupid."

"That basically eliminates everyone," she sighed.  "Everyone.  My family.  The kids back in America.  The kids here.  Hana..."

"Except me," he interrupted.  "Everyone except me and the other guys."

"That's true..."

He smiled.  "Just-"

"Emmy!" Sehun squealed and hugged the life out of her.

"Hey, Sehunnie," she wheezed. 

"How are you?" Kai said as he walked in the room with the rest of the boys.

"Well, I'm alive," she replied.  "To be honest, I feel great."

"That's good," Suho said.

D.O. stepped forward and placed a small lunchbox on her lap.  "I cooked something for you.  I figured you would be hungry when you woke up."

She smiled brightly.  "Thanks."

Baekhyun set her backpack down at the edge of the bed.  "I brought your stuff," he said.

"Thanks, Baek," she said.  She made her way to the lunchbox and found a cute, heart-shaped cut out of rice next to neatly-cut slabs of pork and chicken.  She looked at D.O. with disbelief.  "Did you make this?"

"It's his hobby," Kai smiled and pat the blushing boy's back.

She cutely saluted.  "I will eat well!"

--

"Hyung, I'm tired!" Sehun pouted as he clung to Suho's arm.  “Let’s go home!”

The older shook him off.  "Cut it out, Hun.  Stop being so rude."

Emma smiled softy.  "It's okay, Suho.  You guys can go if you want.  I can manage..."

"I don't wanna leave you, Em," Chanyeol said with his deep voice.

"Same here," Baekhyun said quietly.

She laughed.  "It's seriously okay, guys."

The boys were stubborn, but they ended up leaving.  Baekhyun volunteered to stay.  Emma didn't really mind; she felt the most comfortable with him, although Chanyeol felt like a brother to her.

--

"Hey, Baekhyun," Emma poked the boy's cheek.  He laid his head on her bed while lightly holding her hand, which made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Hm?" the boy opened his eyes sleepily. 

She sat back and pouted.  "Did you...mean what you said today...about..."

"What, you mean about accepting you?" he sat up.  "Yeah."

"But, why?"

Baekhyun rubbed his eyes tiredly.  "Why not?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear, suddenly embarrassed.  "Oh..."

He smiled.  "You're so cute when you do that."

Emma could feel her cheeks heat up.  She looked down and smiled at her hands, trying to get rid of the feeling.

"I don't understand why you're so hard on yourself," he continued. 

"It's not that," she paused.  "Well, it is.  But it's just that no one's ever said something like that to me before."

He looked at her with his smiling eyes.  "It won't be the last."

"I'd like to think so," she said quietly.

She looked up to see him holding her hands gently. 

"Emma," he said as he leaned in...closer...

Until his lips met hers.

What an extraordinary feeling, almost as if she was flying through the air with a strong breeze at her back.  A part of her was telling her never to trust anyone, especially a boy.  But another part of her told her that this is where she needed to be.

This was who she was.

She wanted so desperately to love someone, and she wasn't sure how.  She wanted to love someone that understood her and loved her back.

For who she was.

And she had a feeling that person was Baekhyun.

The sweet boy who stood up for her on the first day of school, not knowing who she was. 

At the same time, her heart told her that this moment wouldn't last.  She didn't care a bit. 

The gentle kiss was broken as he pulled back slowly.  His eyes widened a bit at what he had done. 

She smiled softly.

He smiled back.

Someone cleared their throat at the door.  Baekhyun turned around, and his heart skipped a beat with fear. 

"I, uh, forgot something," Chanyeol said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.  He walked over and grabbed his headphones off of the table at the side of the room. 

"Chanyeol," Emma said softly.

She could've sworn she heard a stifled sob come from the tall boy as he walked back across the room to the door.  He simply ignored her.  His hand grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open.

"No matter how clueless you are, Emma," he sighed, "I still love you."

The door slammed behind him.

Emma and Baekhyun sat in silence.

The wonderful feelings that had soared through her soul were replaced by heavy rocks of guilt in the pit of her stomach. 

At the same time, curiosity flooded her head.  What did he mean?  The words echoed through her head:

"No matter how clueless you are, Emma, I still love you."

Did he...like...her?

Did Baekhyun...like...her?

Her hands trembled unknowingly, and her breaths were shallow.  The once-steady beeping of the heart meter at the side of her bed beeped faster.

Baekhyun sensed her tension and laid his hand on hers.  Her chilled hands warmed at his touch. 

"I...I'm sorry," he stuttered, still flabbergasted at his action.

She blinked.  What was she supposed to say, "it's okay"?

"No, I'm sorry," she said finally.  "I'm only making things harder for you guys."

He squeezed her hand.  "Don't say that, Emma."

Tears brimmed her eyes.  She slowly got out of her hospital bed and dragged the IV unit along with her.

"I need to go out and think," she said absently.  "Don't even bother following me."

"But-," Baekhyun started, but the door slammed.

--

Emma found a comfortable bench outside and sat down.  Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" a boy's voice said behind her. 

"I'm confused," she replied, her voice wavering slightly.

"Hey, it's okay," the person came and wrapped his arms around her.  She looked up to see that it was Sehun.

"Sehun," she cried as she hugged his muscular arms tightly.

"Shhhhh, it's okay," he said softly.

She stiffened.  "Wait, when did you show up?"

He laughed lightly.  "I came with Chanyeol.  When he came out, he walked down the street.  I ran after him, but he only pushed me back, saying to 'back off'."  He shrugged.  "I honestly don't mind, but he seemed really bothered..."

"It's me," she interrupted.  "It's because of me."

"What?" his eyes widened. 

She told him everything.

How Chanyeol saw their kiss.

How awkward and confusing it all was.

"He walked out saying that I was clueless and...how he loved me regardless," she said.

Sehun sat in silence.  "Whoa."  He turned to her.  "I can't believe you didn't know."

"Know, what?" she raised an eyebrow.

He cleared his throat.  "That...Chanyeol and Baekhyun both like you."

--

It's almost summer!

Sigh...I have finals next week, so if I don't update...I'll be working on the fanfic studying  :)

Thanks for your support!!

♥ Emmy