Emma's head spun from confusion as Sehun walked her back to her room.  She tiredly dragged the IV unit beside her.

At the same time, she was thankful for having Sehun there.  He made her feel comfortable and at ease.

Baekhyun jumped as he heard the door of the room slam.  "You're back."

Emma silently nodded and flung herself on the bed with Sehun standing awkwardly at the door.

The young maknae glared at Baekhyun.  "Take care of her," he muttered before walking out.

This had Baekhyun completely dazed.  He had never seen Sehun act this way.  The mere fact that the boy was and sounded serious made him think something was up.

"Emma," he called, but the girl didn't respond.  He walked over and smiled.  She looked so peaceful as she slept.

He leaned down and gently brushed his lips over her forehead. 

"Sweet dreams..."

--

Baekhyun woke up the next morning to the sunlight timidly peeking through the blinds.  He hummed a bit into the soft blanket that covered him.  His eyes widened a bit to see Emma missing. 

Just as he was about to get up and look for her, he saw a note on the table next to him.

Good morning  >u<

The doctor said I’ll be discharged today.  I didn't want to wake you.  I'll be back soon!

  ~ Emma

He smiled a bit.  "Aish, this girl..."

"Oh, you're awake," Emma commented as she walked in.

"Yeah," he nodded and looked at his phone.  "The doctor discharged you?"

Emma nodded.  "Yup.  I was filling out some paperwork downstairs.  I'm free to go now."

"Cool," he chirped happily.  He looked back at his phone.  It was 7:30.  "Are you able to go to school today?"

"I was going to try," she replied.  She grasped his hand.  "Let's go."

--

Emma felt like the happiest person in the world as she got out of the shower and changed into her uniform.  The one thing she hated was the overall scent of hospitals.  To her, it reeked of death and sickness.

Ding dong!

"Coming!" she shouted as she came down the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder. 

"Emmy!" Sehun squealed and tackled her with a hug.

"Sehun!" she laughed.

"We're glad you're okay," Suho said and smiled.

They all smiled and laughed as they walked down the road to the school.  Chanyeol and Baekhyun were the only two who stayed relatively silent.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked them, oblivious to their rivalry.

"Nothing," they chorused.

She second-glanced at them before walking through the door.  She waved to the guys before parting.

"I'm gonna go to the restroom," she told Baekhyun.  "Be right back."

He nodded.

Emma could feel something was up with his mood.  He seemed pretty happy this morning, but when he was with Chanyeol.  It made Emma feel a bit uneasy, knowing that she had two guys jealous of each other...because of her.

She entered the restroom and kept her head down, still incredibly shy.

"Hey, it's the freak."

"I heard she has all her classes with Baekhyun-oppa.  So lucky."

"Are you kidding me?  She's so ugly."

Emma ignored their rude remarks and locked herself in the nearest stall.  She pressed her back against the door, leaning on it for support.  Her head started to feel light again. 

"Hey, newbie!"

It was Hana.  Emma shuddered a little.

Hana kicked the door.  "I know you're in there."

Emma resisted the urge to open the door and punch her in the face.

"Open up!"

"Why should I?" Emma shot back bravely.

"Oh, you're so dead when I get in there," Hana sneered.

Emma shivered with fear, but she opened the door and shouldered her way past Hana, as if nothing happened.  She felt a hand crush her wrist and was pinned against the wall.  Her face was expressionless as Hana glared.

"Is this your idea of revenge?" Emma deadpanned.  "This is pathetic."

"Some guts you've got there," Hana smiled devilishly.

Emma smirked.  Hana smacked her face hard.  Emma couldn't feel any of the pain.  She just stared defiantly into Hana's eyes, angering her further. 

Emma bit her lip as Hana's nails dug into her arm.  She could swear she felt blood drip down her arm onto the bathroom floor. 

"Don't mess with my oppa, you good for nothing brat," Hana spat.

"Why not?" Emma asked.  "He's not anyone's property, especially not yours."

Hana threw Emma to the ground and screeched with frustration before stalking out.  Emma's knees screamed with pain.

She kept her head down as she went to her first class.  She casually sat down next to Baekhyun and started to fix her messy hair.

"Emma, what the heck happened?" Baekhyun's eyes grew wide as he grabbed her bleeding arm.

"Oh, it's nothing," she shrugged.

He squeezed her arm, causing her to wince.  "You're lying."

"Baek," she gasped with pain.  "Stop..."

Baekhyun's grip grew tighter as he dragged her out of the classroom and down the hall to the elevator.  They went down a couple of floors to the nurse's office.

"Hello, Baek- oh my goodness," the nurse stuttered.  She gently took Emma's arm.  "What happened, sweetie?"

Emma paused.  She couldn't tell her about Hana.  "Uh, I was being clumsy," she smiled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear awkwardly.

The nurse nodded, not suspecting anything, and quickly sanitized and wrapped a clean bandage around it.

"Thank you," Emma bowed politely.

The nurse smiled.  "You're welcome.  Just be careful."

--

The walk back to class was very awkward for Emma.  Baekhyun had never treated her harshly like that.  He knew that she had a certain breaking point.  That was her weakness.

He suddenly pinned her against the wall.  She whimpered.

"I know you're lying, Emma, I can see it in your eyes," he said.

"B-Baekhyun," she stammered.  "Please g-get away."

He leaned his forehead onto hers.  She could feel his warm breath on her lips.

"It was Hana, wasn't it?" he asked gently.

"Mmmm," she murmured. 

He kissed her.

In the hallway.

Totally oblivious to whatever went on around them.

--

"Emmy!" Sehun shouted.  "What happened to your arm?"

"It's nothing, Sehunnie," she smiled softly.  "I'm fine."

"Ouch," Chanyeol commented.  He took her arm and examined it. 

She shook him off.  "I'm fine."

She could sense Baekhyun tense up beside her.  She suddenly regret sitting in between them.

"It was Hana," Chanyeol confirmed to himself quietly.

"It's about time you noticed," Baekhyun said coldly.

"Guys," Emma warned. 

Baekhyun ignored her.  "You're so clueless, Chanyeol."

"You're the clueless one!  You don't even notice my feelings for her!" Chanyeol's voice rose.

"Of course I do!"

"Some friend."

"Same to you."

"Guys!" Emma shouted. 

Emma was, once again, ignored.

Baekhyun got up and walked over to Chanyeol.  "Look, back off."

Chanyeol got up and towered over the petite boy.  "Why should I?"

Emma's stomach flipped with fear.

Chanyeol grabbed the collar of Baekhyun's uniform.  "You're making a big mistake, Baekhyun.  You can mess around with people, just not me."

Baekhyun looked into the taller's eyes defiantly.  "Go ahead.  Hit me."

"Stop!" Emma got up and pushed herself in between them.  "Please."

Chanyeol snorted and stalked off, leaving Emma and Baekhyun with the rest of the guys. 

"Stop fighting, for my sake," she said quietly.

"Emma, you don't understand!" Baekhyun shouted, causing her to flinch.

"I do understand!" she shouted back.  "You're stupid to think that I'm naive and innocent!  I've seen it all!"

She bit back a sob and walked down the path after Chanyeol.

--

“Chanyeol, wait!” Emma cried.

The tall boy turned around suddenly, and she crashed into his figure.  She looked up to see the boy’s eyes red and puffy with tears.

“What,” he growled softly.

“I…I just wanted to say…I-I’m sorry,” she stammered.

He raised an eyebrow questioningly.  “Since when was this your fault?”

She smiled slightly.  “I have a habit of taking things upon myself.”

“I see.”

“Yup.”

He took her hand gently.  “You wanna go somewhere else?”

“Okay…”

With that, he led her up the stairs to the rooftop.  Her head felt light and airy again, but she pushed it aside as she plopped herself next to Chanyeol.  Although the air was occupied with a biting breeze, Emma found comfort from how warm he was. 

“This is my favorite place,” Chanyeol explained.  “It helps me think.”

“Mmmm,” she nodded.  “It’s nice up here.”

“It’s even nicer with you,” Chanyeol said quietly.

Emma ignored the comment.  “I’m sorry about-“

He squeezed her hand and looked at her.  “Park Emma.  If you say you’re sorry one more time, I think I’m gonna lose my mind.”  He leaned in a bit closer.  “Too late, I think I have.”

His lips hovered hesitantly over hers.  They gently pressed and molded into hers.  This kiss was different from Baekhyun’s.  It was sweeter, almost too sweet, whereas Baekhyun’s was passionate and gentle.  Either way, Emma still felt uneasy about it.

“Chanyeol,” she murmured into the kiss as his hand slowly and awkwardly made its way down her leg.  “Please…don’t…”

His long arms hooked around her legs, and he skillfully swung them across his lap.  She stiffened as he lifted her onto his long legs.  Sensing her tension, Chanyeol lowered the intensity.

He gently caressed her cheek as he pulled back.  “Park Emma.”

“Park Chanyeol.”

“Park Emma,” he breathed.  “I think I’m addicted to you.  I think I like you.”  He paused.  “And I think you hate me.”

“What makes you think that?” she asked curiously.

He shook his head and chuckled.  “You’ll never understand.”

She shivered and buried herself into his chest.  “I understand plenty.”

Footsteps were heard coming from the door that led to the stairs, causing both Emma and Chanyeol to look up, startled.

Chanyeol had a strong feeling it was Baekhyun before he opened the door.  Without explanation, the boy pressed his lips hard against Emma’s.  Her eyes widened, shocked by his sudden action.

Just as he predicted, Baekhyun and the rest of the boys came barging through the door. 

“Oh my-,” Suho started.

“Are they-?” D.O.’s eyes grew wide.

“I think-,” Kai gaped.

“Emmy,” Sehun said quietly.

Baekhyun’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.  He tried to find a word to say, but he couldn’t. 

To be honest, he wasn’t angry with Chanyeol, but he was angry with Emma.  This girl might not seem as clueless as she thinks she is.  He could feel that she somehow knew their suffering.  She somehow did this intentionally.

But then again, he couldn’t get mad at her. 

Emma’s heart skipped a beat as soon as she realized that Baekhyun and the others were watching.  She struggled against Chanyeol, but his muscular arms pinned her thin ones to the bench, leaving her completely helpless.

Sehun could feel her helplessness.  He swifly went over, pushed Chanyeol aside, and swooped her up into his arms.  He could hear the others’ voices call out to them, telling them to come back, but Sehun ignored them and kept walking down the stairs.

Emma leaned her head against his chest.  She could hear his comforting heart beat as she could feel heavy tears stream down her cheeks.

“What am I?” she murmured.